Thursday, December 29, 2011

Joan Aragone: New UCSF report shows more deficiencies with for-profit nursing homes

If you're considering a nursing home, beware. Check out staff-to-patient ratio as well as learn who owns a place.That's a lesson from a new inform by researchers during UC San Francisco, who aimed to compare quality of caring in a country's 10 largest for-profit nursing home bondage with caring in other for-profits, nonprofits as well as government-run facilities.Their findings: Staffing levels were lower as well as deficiencies in caring were higher, in a for-profits -- both during a largest bondage as well as during a smaller for-profit comforts -- than a nonprofits, as well as bondage purchased by in isolation equity companies showed more deficiencies after a purchase than before."Poor quality of caring is endemic in many nursing homes, though we found that a most serious problems occur in a largest for-profit homes," pronounced first author Charlene Harrington, professor emeritus of sociology as well as nursing during UCSF, in a statement.Many of these 10 bondage have comforts in California, according to Pat McGinnis, executive executive of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.According to a study, a 10 largest for-profit bondage in a United States operate around 2,000 nursing homes, controlling around 13 percent of nursing home beds. Of these facilities, nearly 1,000 were bought by in isolation equity companies between 2003-2007.The investigate lonesome 2003-2008.Researchers found that sum nursing hours were lower in a top 10 nursing home bondage than all other groups, while a number of "deficiencies" as well as "serious deficiencies" were "significantly higher" in a top 10 bondage than any other group. Deficiencies embody disaster to prevent vigour sores, resident weight loss, falls, infections, resident mistreatment, poor sanitary conditions as well as similar problems.A friend landed in one of these big-chain places in another state after Medicare stopped remuneration for his hospitalization. From intensive caring with round-the-clock treatment, he was placed in a shared room where he frequency saw a registered nurse. The only alloy upon staff, a "medical director," was upon vacation when he arrived, as well as no physician attended him for several days. His condition worsened, though no staff member apparently noticed. After a crisis, my friend was rushed into an ambulance as well as returned to a hospital as well as intensive care.Low staffing levels have been a concern, a investigate said, because they have been associated with poor "resident outcomes." However, such low levels meant low labor costs, which, a investigate said, "appear to be a government plan to revoke costs." It's about money, pronounced McGinnis. "You cannot yield decent caring in a for-profit system." But, a investigate pronounced a new healthcare bill, a Affordable Care Act, aims to have information more available in two critical areas. Facilities have been required to inform staffing data, so staff ratio can be checked. And transparency of ownership will be required."Currently, nobody take responsibility, nobody is held accountable for problems," pronounced Tippy Irwin, executive executive of Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County, a nonprofit agency that investigates nursing homes.Prescott Cole, senior attorney during CANHR, suggests that families looking for a nursing home should: 1. Call a ombudsman program in their county for information as well as advice; 2. Visit before during different hours of a day to check out staff-to-patient ratio, as well as "just be there" to see what it's like.The authors of a investigate call for more research, especially for bondage purchased by in isolation equity firms "because they have been under vigour to improve shareholder as well as investor values, with small oversight by regulators." You can find a article online as well as in a imitation publication "Health Services Research." Addendum: a 10 largest U.S. for-profit bondage have been HCR Manor Care, Golden Living, Life Care Centers of America, Kindred Healthcare, Genesis HealthCare Corporation, Sun Health Care Group Inc., SavaSeniorCare LLC, Extendicare Health Services Inc., National Health Care Corp., as well as Skilled HealthCare, LLC.For comments or story ideas contact Joan Aragone during joanaragone@gmail.com.


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