Community monitoring of nursing home care: Proprietary and non-profit association perspectives

Data obtained from a national population of state representatives of non-profit and proprietary nursing home associations (N =55) are used to identify normative stances taken by longterm care spokespersons. Findings fail to confirm the idea of community surveillance of patient care by nursing home ombudsmen on the part of proprietary long-term care association representatives. Non-profit spokespersons were significantly more likely to agree that long-term care staff, themselves, are not able to resolve all problems that arise in nursing homes. They also displayed a more elaborate view of functions to be assigned to nursing home ombudsmen as external monitors of patient care. Both proprietary and non-profit sponsors hesitate in accepting the full legitimacy of public scrutiny of institutional care practices. Findings imply that different community monitoring training requirements for patient representatives may be needed depending on the nature of institutional auspice.