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Solving Problems in Long Term Care |
Hot Topics Campaign and State Ombudsman Press State for Improvements in Nursing Home Complaint Investigations In June, Campaign statewide organizer Alison Hirschel and State Long Term Care Ombudsman Sarah Slocum, along with disability rights activist Dohn Hoyle, met with Janet Olszewski, the director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, and other state officials to discuss longstanding and critical problems with the state’s system of investigating nursing home complaints and sanctioning nursing homes that fail to meet state and federal requirements. The meeting resulted from a very lengthy and detailed letter Alison and Sarah wrote to Ms. Olszewski in the spring which gave specific examples of problems like serious complaints not being investigated for months, state surveyors being unwilling to substantiate complaints unless they observed the violations personally despite eye witness reports and documentation by the people who filed the complaints, complaints about serious issues being downgraded to lesser offenses, a lack of opportunities for consumers to provide in-put on nursing home regulatory issues, etc. Subsequently, Alison and Sarah wrote to Ms. Olszewski again and other advocacy organizations joined in the letter requesting a meeting. At the meeting, Ms. Olszewski agreed to have her staff develop regular opportunities for consumers to provide in-put on these issues and to look into providing funding for a mediation program to respond to less serious complaints. After a discussion concerning the fact that there are only a handful of complaint investigators to respond to several thousand complaints this year, Ms. Olszewski noted that the Bureau of Health Systems would be adding several additional complaint investigators but that the state’s budget situation made it impossible to hire as many investigators as would be required to respond to all complaints promptly. She also encouraged consumers to continue to raise these issues with legislators and the media and to support the state’s efforts to ensure nursing homes provide quality care. The Campaign and the State Ombudsman program will continue to talk to state officials about these important issues and to press for more extensive solutions.
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