Page 8-Wednesday, February 15, 1978-The Michigan Daily
PLAN WOULD PENALIZE RIGHTS VIOLA TIONS:
High cost may
jeopardize nursing home bill
By ROD WATSON
A bill to extend the rights of nursing
home patients may not make it to the
state Senate floor because of a $750,000
price tag.
Substitute Senate Bill (SB) 659,
currently before the Senate Ap-
propriations Committee, is an attempt
to insure proper care for the elderly by
penalizing any of the state's 383 nursing
homes that violate patients' rights.
-THE NEW BILL provides a tough
financial penalty system for violations
of 15 specific human rights, and more
broadly:
b extends patients' rights to all
patients, rather than only to those
covered by federally funded programs;
*strengthens requirements for the
protectionand accounting of patients'
private funds;
'.protects patients from arbitrary
transfers;
* and requires nursing homes and
patients to have a written contract
THE HIGHLANDS
1land 2 bedroom apartments
includes security lock system, drapes,
dishwasher, lighted tennis courts, and
pool
Buses to and from campus daily
1693 Broadway, Apt. 302
769-3d72
Reaume and Doddes Management Co.
specifying services and costs;
Susan Rourke, executive director of
Citizens for Better Care (CBC) in
Detroit, as well as coordinator of the
statewide Coalition for Nursing Home
Reform (CNHR), said the penalty
system was one of the key points in the
bill, and one that had been haggled over
repeatedly.
"THERE WAS a minor sort of
penalty system invoked 18 months ago,
but it didn't include all the rules, and
the DPH didn't enforce it very well,"
Rourke said. "It lumped all the
violations under one rule, so that it
didn't matter if you violated one of the
patient's rights; or all of them. It was
still counted as just one violation. Now
each one has its own penalty."
"The original SB 659 had financial
penalties for each provision which was
violated," said Rourke. "But the Health
and Social Services Committee had the
antagonists - the citizens groups, the
nursing home industry, and the Depar-
tment of Public Health (DPH) - sit
down and work out a compromise. So
Substitute 659 represents an agreement
by all of the groups involved, as well as
by the legislature."
But because of cost, passage of the
bill may take quite a while, even in its
compromise form.
"WE'RE STILL not in favor of it,"
said Chuck Harmon, executive vice-
president of the Michigan Health Care
Association, who is representing the
nursing home industry. "Most of the
provisions relate to the level of care,
and because over 70 per cent of the nur-
sing home residents are on welfare, the
state is going to have to pay for it/
"We worked last fall with CBC and
got a number of changes to improve the
bill, so it's better now. But no, we still
won't support it in its present form."
Fred Traill, chief of licensing and
Rourke said the homes are allowed to
remain open, without making any
changes, while appealing the DPH
decision, which in Wayne County takes
an average of 37 months. No
Washtenaw County homes are on the
list.
ROURKE SAID A recent CBC study
'(Before) it didn't matter if you violated
one of the patient 's rights or all of them. It
was still counted as just one violation. Now
each one has its own penalty.'
-Susan Rourke,
Citizens for Better Care
the use of privacy curtains . . . Many
patients are injured due to falls or
altercations with other patients with lit-
tle or no evidence of measures taken to
prevend re-occurrence ... Teeth were
crusted with food and mucous film ...
Fingertips of one patient were stained,
burned and gangrenous."
FORD MANOR is still involved in
licensing litigation, and remains open,
though some residents remain
dissatisfied.
Allen Jenkins, a 71-year-old resident
who has been there for 19 months, came
in after having a leg removed. Now he
has an infection on his remaining leg.,
"The same thing happened to my
other leg and they told me to watch it,"
he said last week. "So I told them about
this two weeks ago, and the doctor
hasn't looked at it yet."
RUBY LOGGINS, a 78-year-old
resident, said she broke the stem on her
glasses three weeks ago, but rather
than fixing her regular glasses and
returning them, the doctor brought her
another pair that she can't see out of -
and then charged her for them.
"I only get $27 a month, and this mon-
th they took $17 of that for these new
glasses," she said. "I can't read with
them - my eyelashes hit up against the
lens - and people don't even look
natural with them."
She said she still doesn't know what
happened to her regular glasses, which
she said cost her over $60.
SHE ALSO complained that the sink
in her room had been turned off
because another patient in the three-
man room washed her bedpan out in it,
despite orders not to. And as she ex-
plained the situation, nurses physically
subdued the roommate and dragged
her, screaming, back into the room.
"There ought to be someplace she
can go rather than in here where folks
want to be treated like folks," Loggins
said, as the woman was put to bed.
Ford administrators refused to
comment on the incident, their licen-
sing dispute, or any of the patients'
claims.
The DPH report on Connor Manor in
Detroit cited numerous personnel shor-
tages, a lack of clean personal care
items for patients, and the fact that
three out of four nurses stations failed
to have the telephone number of an
alternate physician listed - all
violations of state standards - as well
as several other violations.
Connor administrator Joan Hayden
said Monday the cited conditions had
been corrected, and that Connor Manor
expected to win its licensing appeal.
She would not elaborate on what steps
have been taken, or comment on the
proposed reform legislation currently
in the Senate.
9 r
certification in the Health Department,
estimated that the provisions in the new
bill would cost between $500,000 and
$750,000. Traill said it is not clear yet if
the state would have to foot the whole
bill, or if there would be matching
federal funds provided.
"BUT WE'RE in favor of the concept,
with some modifications of the
technical parts," Traill said.
Rourke agreed the new bill would
cost the state some money.
"But if we're going to do it, it should
be done right," she said.
CNHR CONCERN stems from the
fact that 36 Michigan homes are on the
state's "intent-to-deny-license" list for
violations of state health care standar-
ds, and, according to the Coalition,
"basic human rights."
DPH reports cite understaffing,
mishandling of patients' private funds,
and inadequate personal care, as well
as a general disregard for the feelings
and attitudes of the patients in the
homes currently on the list. Three
thousand of the state's 39,000 nursing
home residents are in those homes.
showed the average fee for private
patients in Michigan nursing homes is
around $1,000 per month, and $750 per
month for Medicaid patients.
"They're still taking patients, and the
patients are still getting substandard
care, as defined by the State of
Michigan," she said.
The new bill would give the DPH
other tools to use in dealing with sub-
standard homes, rather than the simple
"open or close" procedure specified
now.
"THERE'S A 'receivership' section
which says if a home is deficient, the
court can appoint a receiver to take
over and provide better care," said Ed
Allardice, CBC program director. "If
it's used, this could be very effective
because you're taking the profits away
from the owners and using them to
make repairs."
As an example of the types of
violations patients commonly encoun-
ter, Allardice pulled the file on the Ford
Manor home in Highland Park.
The DPH nurse's report on Ford cited
"Lack of underclothing, socks and/or
shoes.. . Patients being bathed without
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an # aItt
Work With Kids at
CAMP TAMARACK
Brighton and Ortonville, Michigan. Jobs for counselors,
specialists, kitchen staff, nurses, caseworkers and long
trip bus drivers.
Inerviewing February 21,
Summer Placement Office
CALL 763-4117 for an appointment. Camp Tamarack is the
Jewish residential camp sponsored by the Fresh Air Society, 6600 W.
Maple Rd., W. Bloomfield, MI 48033, 661-0600. Please call or write us for
anapplication or additional information.
By ELISA ISAACSON
Retired Assistant Dean of the Univer-
sity's School of Education Alvin Loving
will be honored by the school with a
scholarship in his name.
Loving, who retired in 1973, became
in 1956 the first black professor at the
University to receive tenure.
COLLEAGUE MURRAY Jackson
described Loving as "compassionate,
but uncompromising." Jackson added
that Loving was "interested in
education as a force or method of
helping people to help themselves" and
saw education as a "way out of
problems and dilemmas."
Loving has worked extensively to
promote minority interests. In 1969 he
helped organize a protest in the School
of Education which resulted in the
hiring of many new black faculty mem-
bers. Loving alsogave leadership to the
University faculty during the Black Ac-
tion Movement (BAM) strike in 1970.
Loving said he feels these movements
were a success, but stated that since his
retirement, "There's been a complete
reversal of attitudes from what I hear.
People don't seem to care anymore."
LOVING SAID an effective affir-
mative action program at the Univer-
sity is of utmost importance. "Un-
forunately, the University-the
[ -_____________________________________________
Alvin Loving
MARTY'S ... GOES DUTCH TREAT WITH THEIR THIRD ANNUAL
DUTCH
UCTIO
NOW
THRU SATURDAY
SUITS
FRIDAY'S
9
REGULAR
SATURDAY'S
SPORT COATS
DAY'S THURSDAY'S FRIDAY'S SATURDAY'S
TREAT DUTCH TREAT DUTCH TREAT DUTCH TREAT
REGULAR WEDNESDAY'S
PRICE DUTCH TREAT
$135
$155
$165
$190
$250
$275
$109
$139
$149
$169
$229
$255
THURSDAY'S
DUTCH TREAT
$99
$125
$135
$145
$209
$235
FRIDAY'S
DUTCH TREAT
$89
$109
$119
$129
$189
$215
SATURDAY'S
DUTCH TREAT
$79
$89
$99
$119
$175
$195
REGULAR
PRICE
$85
$90
$110
$125
$165
$200
$75
$79
$99
$109
$149
$179
$65
$69
$89
$99
$139
$159
WEDNES
DUTCH 1
$55
$59
$79
$89
$125
$149
$45
$49
$69
$79
$109
$139
professorial group-isdthe most conser-
vative I know," he said.
Loving recalled his employment at
the University as "eighteen delightful
years" and that as he looks back he
values his "relationship with studen-
ts-with all students" most of all. He
told the tale of how one of the students
in his predominantly white classes told
him he was the first black teacher the
student had ever had. "I said," related
Loving, "you're lucky'I never had
one."
Jackson called the Alvin D. Loving,
Sr. Scholarship a "fitting tribute" to
Loving for his large contribution to the
University. The fund will not be limited
to minority students, but they will
definitely be given special con-
sideration.
The scholarship will be awarded on
the basis .of need and academic perfor-
mance. Jackson said they will be
looking for "students who have demon-
strated the kinds of interests and con-
cerns that Al Loving has demon-
strated."
Jackson has sent out a letter on
behalf of the Black Faculty of the
School of Education soliciting con-
tributions for the fund. He hopes to be
able to offer the scholarship to students
this fall.
In a nutshell!
a
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CASUAL SLACKS
DRESS SLACKS
1/2 s9q
OFF
)FF
LEVI JEANS
.62 Corduroy $9.62
And Other Styles
SPORT SHIRTS
2AOFF
LEATHER COATS ii
LEATHER JACKETS 2
TOP COATS 1/2
SUBURBAN COATS OFF
SWEATERS
Ski and Cardigans
Fancy Wraps
Patterned Crews & V-Necks
1
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