For-Profit vs. Not-For-Profit Psych

[EatYourVeggies]

Has anyone had experience working on a for-profit psych unit versus a not-for-profit one? I am curious to know about your experiences and how they differ. I currently work at a for-profit stand alone 177 bed psych hospital and all I can say so far is they tend to be stingy with supplies that are unacceptable like snacks for kids or hospital pants : /

[elkpark]

I would never consider working for a for-profit psych facility, but I worked as a psych facility surveyor for my state and CMS a number of years ago, and some of the facilities we surveyed were for-profit. We found that we could tell pretty quickly, once we walked in the door and started looking around, whether facilities were nonprofit or for-profit, without being told. The for-profit facilities cut every corner they possibly could and squeezed every nickel until it screamed, sometimes to a ridiculous degree. They had a higher rate of problems/incidents/bad outcomes than the nonprofit places did.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I worked for a for-profit facility (I didn't know better at the time) and I can second everything elkpark said. With them, it's all about maximizing the profits by any means necessary. I can't even begin to describe how stingy they could get about things, especially with staffing and salaries. Corners were cut left and right. Policies and rules changed so frequently it was exhausting to keep track of them. Even patients noted--and commented--about it. Complain about things, and you'd find yourself jobless.

Of course, when Medicare/JCAHO/surveyors came around, the place was suddenly flush with supplies and generously staffed.

I don't plan to ever work for a for-profit again in the future if I can help it.. There's too much focus on the bottom line, and not enough focus on developing the most therapeutic environments for both patient and nurse.