Newsletter

May, 2011


 1. Please join us at our next statewide meeting on May 21st at the law offices of Chalgian & Tripp in East Lansing, 1019 Trowbridge Road (near the Trowbridge exit for I-496 and Route 127). Please also plan to join us at our next meeting on July 16th at the same time and place. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Brittany Koziol at miqualitycare@yahoo.com or 616-570-2065.

2. Michigan Legislators continues work on Fiscal Year 2012 Budget; Advocacy Still Urgently Required— At the time of writing of the newsletter, the Michigan legislature has not yet completed its FY 2012 despite the Governor’s request that the budget be completed by the end of May. Unlike previous years, however, the budget process is moving VERY swiftly and IMMEDIATE advocacy continues to be urgently required on several issues of special concern to long term care consumers. READ BELOW TO LEARN WHAT’S AT STAKE; SEE PAGE 2 FOR INFORMATION ABOUT KEY LEGISLATORS WHO MUST BE CONTACTED TODAY!

▪     Home Help: Currently, the Home Help program pays for approximately 60,000 individuals each year to get help with both activities of daily living (personal care) like bathing, toileting, and eating, and with “instrumental” activities of daily living (chores) like shopping, laundry, cleaning, medications and meal preparation. The Governor proposed terminating services for all individuals who require help only with chore services. Although the Administration has alleged that these Home Help beneficiaries are less needy than beneficiaries who need help with basic activities, the Campaign has provided legislative testimony and tried to educate Administration officials that these vulnerable individuals just have different needs. In fact, many of the individuals who need but cannot get help with chores will likely be forced to seek much more costly institutional care.
▪     Michigan Quality Community Care Council (“MQC3”): In addition, the Governor proposed eliminating funding for MQC3, a small agency that helps to match Home Help beneficiaries with providers (workers) who can meet their needs, and that provides training, screening, and support for both workers and beneficiaries. A study released last month by the respected Anderson Economic Group demonstrates that MQC3 provides an important and cost-effective function. According to the report, MQC3 saves the state money both by helping Home Help consumers who need providers to find them so they can stay at home and by ensuring that Home Help providers don’t receive unemployment benefits in error after they start working in the Home Help program.
▪     MI Choice Waiting Lists and Nursing Home Transition Program: The extremely successful MI Choice Nursing Home Transition Initiative helped more than 1300 people who wanted to leave nursing homes transition out to their own homes or assisted living during the last year at great savings to the state. Administration officials now hope to transition 1500 people. However, funding for MI Choice for both transitions and for services provided in the community for people who qualify for nursing home level of care remains flat in the Governor’s proposed budget and the House and Senate budget proposals to date. Without additional funds for MI Choice, it will be impossible to provide services to most of the thousands of people on the waiting list for MI Choice or to fund as many transitions as the Governor proposes.
▪     Area Agency on Aging funding for meals and community services: The Governor proposed additional severe cuts to meals, community services and other Area Agency on Aging programs, on top of the 28% cuts these programs have suffered since 2009. Like the MI Choice program described above, these services help keep people out of nursing homes and there are long waiting lists for these important supports.

KEY LEGISLATORS TO CONTACT TO SAVE LONG TERM CARE CONSUMERS

                                Sen. Roger Kahn senrkahn@senate.michigan.gov                  (866) 305-2132

                                Sen. John Moolenaar senjmoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov  (517) 373-7946

                               Sen. Vince Gregory senvgregory@senate.michigan.gov          (517) 373-7888

                               Rep. Chuck Moss chuckmoss@house.mi.gov                          (877) 707-6677

                               Rep. Matt Lori mattlori@house.mi.gov                                  (877) 262-5959

                              Rep. Rashida Tlaib rashidatlaib@house.mi.gov                      (877) 852-4212

Please also call Governor Snyder’s office at (517) 373-3400 or email him at RickSnyder@Michigan.gov.

 
3. Keeping long term care consumers safe! Over the years, the Campaign has alerted the community to many dangers long term care consumers face. We wanted to take a moment to highlight again two important issues we have discussed before: bed rails and summer heat. In the next issue, we will remind readers about fire safety in long term care facilities.
◊     Bed rails—Although often mistakenly viewed as benign safety devices, bed rails can pose a significant, even fatal, danger. When confused residents try to climb over rails to get out of bed, they often fall from a higher point and hit the floor with more force. Moreover, they are more likely to fall on their heads than if they fell off the side of a bed without rails. But the even more potent danger comes when frail residents become entrapped in gaps between the mattress and poorly fitted bed rails, sometimes causing asphyxiation or other severe harm. According to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hundreds of people have died in this way and the FDA issued a formal warning on the dangers of bed rails in 2006. Long term care providers should be able to offer alternatives to bed rails including lowering mattresses closer to the floor and putting thick padding by the side
◊    Summer Heat—As summer approaches, it is wise to remember that many long term care facilities still do not offer air conditioning in all resident rooms and areas and many long term care consumers reside at home without air conditioning.
When summer temperatures spike, frail consumers sometimes experience heat related health complications and, on rare occasions, death. The Michigan Department of Community Health reminds facilities annually that they are responsible for ensuring safe and comfortable temperatures. In addition, the Department issues recommendations to handle heat and humidity:

1. Keep the air circulating and make sure that the air conditioning system or fans the facility relies on are regularly checked, maintained, and replaced.
2. Draw all shades, blinds, and curtains in rooms exposed to direct sunlight.
3. Remove residents from all areas exposed to direct sunlight.
4. Check to ensure residents are adequately dressed.
5. Provide ample fluids.
6. Increase the number of baths given.
In addition, the Department advises facilities to ensure staff are familiar with the symptoms of heat related distress and monitor and assess residents carefully. Heat exhaustion occurs when individuals experience excessive perspiration and exhibit paleness, weakness, dizziness, headaches, nausea or vomiting. Individuals may also experience confusion, muscle cramps, lack of coordination, rapid breathing and pulse even though their body temperature remains normal or slightly below normal levels. Treatment should include removing the person to a cooler environment and encouraging the consumption of fluids. The first symptoms of heat stroke, a far more serious condition, may be similar to those described above. However, heat stroke victims do not perspire and have extremely high body temperatures. They may experience convulsions or loss of consciousness. Treatment should include immersing the victim in a cool bath or sponging the person with cool water and seeking immediate medical treatment for this potentially fatal emergency.


4. Campaign thanks Western Michigan University for its help in developing a strategic plan-- A big “Thank You” to Professor of Management Timothy B. Palmer and his students in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at WMU’s Haworth College of Business. A team of nine students worked diligently all semester to come up with a business feasibility plan for the Campaign at no charge! They offered many recommendations we can implement at little or no cost to improve communication with our current membership and increase the Campaign’s visibility. And the students finished the semester with a better understanding of both long term care and grassroots organizing. Thanks, WMU!.

5. The Campaign is on Facebook! – Thanks to the Campaign’s tech-savvy vice chair, Brittany Koziol, the Michigan Campaign for Quality Care is now on Facebook. Search for us under: Michigan Campaign for Quality Care and let everyone know you like our page. Make sure you check out our website, too, at campaignforqualitycare.org