It is unconscionable, at a time when UC [University of California] medical centers have made over $1.9 billion in profits since 2013 and hand out huge wage increases to UC executives… - Nurses to Protest at 7 UC Hospitals, Saying "Patients Over Profits!" California Nurses Association Press Release
Profit is a financial benefit that is realized when the amount of revenue gained from a business activity exceeds the expenses, costs and taxes needed to sustain the activity. - Investopedia
University of California medical centers are non-profit entities. Yes, they usually have revenue left over after expenses (as calculated annually). Got a problem with that? Keep in mind that UC medical centers also have well over a billion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities.
We usually consider it a good thing when households have leftover funds after expenses, especially when the funds are saved for future expenses. So why the righteous indignation with non-profit organizations who are doing essentially the same thing? For that matter, what's wrong with being a profit-making medical organization, especially when the prospect of making profits spurs better quality of care and better outcomes? Check it out:
Interestingly, the [Harvard] analysis also showed that the most dangerous hospitals for patients by far were government hospitals, which underperformed in almost every quality metric when compared with both non-profit and for-profit private medical facilities. The basic takeaway from the analysis was that there is variation in quality from hospital to hospital, but that variation it is not correlated with for-profit status. Maybe For-Profit Hospitals Aren't So Bad, Harvard.edu Blog
Btw, just 20% of US hospitals are for-profit (not counting psychiatric institutions):
This is all setting the stage for a discussion of nurse staffing levels and how they impact the cost and quality of medical care.