The New York Times recently published an eye-opening expose detailing how many corporate nursing home chains essentially drain their nursing homes of funds instead of spending more on providing quality care. Some highlights include the following:

• Nursing homes are often understaffed

• Nursing homes often have a scarcity of nurses and aides

• Nursing homes are short on supplies, such as diapers,sheets, linens

• Operating expenses paid to related corporations also owned by the same nursing home owners, so that owners an take profits from multiple sources

• Nursing homes outsource goods and services to other entities controlled by the same owners, so as to increase profits

• Nursing homes pay inflated expenses resulting in less assets and operating income to nursing home

• Paying inflated rents to sister companies to increase nursing home profits

• Devise complicated corporate webs to hide assets from potential negligence and wrongful death lawsuits

• Nursing home chains are pulling money away from staffing

• Family members found soaked in urine, unwashed, with cold food, vacant front desks, rarely re-positioned to prevent bedsores

• For profit nursing home conglomerates fare much worse in fines, complaints and staffing