I was wondering when this was going to be addressed by government - the alarm has been going for awhile in the communities/ homes affected. I have been in working in the nursing homes field for 25+ years. I have seen the quality, goals deteriorate with profit owners. The non-profits have community ties, interaction and mission statements often attached to a religious ideology. Their focus is serving the seniors and the communities/ families. For profit is just that - goal is PROFIT, not service. In nursing we attempt to meet goals for the resident in our plans. Non--profits goals are related to care of the resident and their well-being and the community they serve. For profits goals are PROFIT as reported on the quarterly reports for the benefit of the investors not the resident and families. It still astounds me that this obvious negative outcome is surprising to others when my response is well DUH, what do you expect with for- profit. IT'S FOR PROFIT. When this first started I thought about why these firms are investing and why they thought it was a sure thing. I though it is like the push to privatize prisons. Captive population that has tax-payer funding through government that whose legislation can be affected through lobbyists (bribery) for legislation that benefits the for-profit organization. We have again a captive population (not through the legal system but the infirmities of age)and system that is tax payer funded with a chance to lobby for better profits to increase profits. I read a well studied thesis once that looked at public vs private for society needs which found that certain needs that are for the "quality" of social life are not good sources for profit (unless the system is corrupted ) and only deliver with good results for the costs when kept in the public realm with honest, involved over site by an honest government with involved citizenry. We have been propagandized over the last 30-40 years that only the "market place" can deliver these services. They never will when the goal is profit not quality for the recipient. As we learned in nursing 101 your goal and interventions must COINCIDE for successful outcomes for the resident and families.

Research also shows that private pay facilities provide considerably higher quality care and programming than do those relying solely on Medicaid. By this logic, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Rep. Mark Pocan and the rest of Congress is responsible for the poor quality care in those facilities as they are the ones siphoning monies away from long term care and funding other government projects. Can certainly tell it's an election year.

Maybe Warren should do something about the relentless shuttering of facilities in her home state. These folks just don't pass the smell test.