Patients admitted for medical care at for-profit hospitals had about 11 more deaths per 1,000 admissions than patients at nonprofit hospitals, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Nurse understaffing was linked to a substantial share of that gap.
The study, published in the journal Medical Care, examined more than 1.17 million patients at 143 for-profit and 798 nonprofit adult acute care hospitals in 10 states, according to a Penn Nursing news release. Surgical patients at for-profit hospitals had about five more deaths per 1,000 admissions.
