ABSTRACT
The federal government was able to influence quality care through improved guidelines for long-term care facility construction. Compared to the quality expected in homes for the aged where voluntary levels of care were higher, commercial homes held to a different purpose and provided a demonstrably lower level of care. The elusive goal of quality care, needed by all but available to few, was at odds with obligations to provide for sheltered space and a minimum level of care. Although commercial homes often exhibited poor quality of care, known to the public through occasional newspaper and informal advocacy group reports, commercial homes proved more acceptable than government intervention to secure necessary regulations and funding for more optimal standards of care. An additional obstacle in obtaining adequate financing for long-term care homes was the lack of carefully determined data on how much a quality bed should cost.
