COVID Proving That Nonprofit Nursing Homes Deliver Better Care
“If the nursing home is focused on turning a profit or if they are focused on providing quality care, you’ll know it as soon as you walk into the facility,” said Brian Brown, a founding partner with Brown & Barron, a law firm that specializes in nursing home issues. “You’re probably going to see that the nursing homes that fare the worst during COVID-19 had the worst track record before the pandemic.”
Nonprofits have a built-in advantage
Studies have shown that for-profit homes, on average, maintain lower staffing levels than nonprofits, providing the most logical explanation for why for-profits perform worse than nonprofits. With the high cost of long-term care already beyond the means of many families, many for-profit nursing homes have cut supplies (including PPEs) and staffing to the bone to cut overhead and increase profitability, resulting in lower standards of care.
According to list of studies compiled by QP Briefing:
When choosing a nursing home, families need to do their research, because there are high performing for-profit facilities and low-performing nonprofits, but the nonprofits appear to have an intrinsic advantage. To no surprise it comes down to money.
“For-profit nursing homes need to allocate a certain percentage of every dollar toward profit for shareholders, and that influences decisions on staffing, PPE, and other life-saving resources,” said Leah Barron, a founding partner with Brown & Barron. “For the nonprofit facility, every penny, in theory, goes toward providing care.”
Our attorneys at Brown & Barron, LLC focus on representing nursing home residents who have been neglected or abused. We know first-hand how these facilities function, and just how vulnerable residents are to injuries. If you believe you or a family member has suffered as a result of nursing home negligence, we invite you to contact our team as soon as possible to learn more about your rights and options.
To learn more about how the coronavirus is affecting nursing homes and their residents, visit our coronavirus update blog. Tocontact our team, call(410) 547-0202today for a consultation.