Health care corporatization and the employment conditions of nurses.

: There has been little study of the impact of the recent transition of ownership of hospitals and nursing homes, from voluntary and public to corporate, on the employment of nursing staffs. Non-state or non-federally owned hospitals and nursing homes in Florida were examined with regard to salaries, benefits, career advancement opportunities, and vacancy and turnover rates of the nursing staff. While salary levels were influenced primarily by local wage markets, significant differences were found in the benefit packages, career opportunities, staffing ratios, and vacancy and turnover rates among for-profit, not-for-profit, and publicly-owned facilities. Nurse administrators of corporate hospitals and nursing homes can lower the costs of high turnover rates in their nursing staffs by exploring improvements in benefit plans and career opportunities offered to their employees.