The Commonwealth Fund

Over the last decade, a grassroots movement within the nursing home industry known as 'culture change' has begun to fundamentally alter the way nursing homes function. Initiatives such as the Wellspring program, based mostly at nonprofit nursing homes, have begun to produce marked improvement in the workforce environment and, most importantly, in residents' lives. The evaluation will focus on a new culture change initiative being implemented in nursing homes owned by the nation's largest for-profit chain, Beverly Enterprises. It will measure change that has occurred and identify factors that impede as well as facilitate improvements at the unit, facility, and corporate levels. Evidence that corporate business interests are furthered through quality innovations could serve as a powerful incentive for their widespread adoption-particularly among for-profit homes, which account for two-thirds of nursing facilities nationwide. If this work is successful, the Fund will consider a subsequent phase. http://www1.umn.edu