A recent column by Helen Kozlowski-Hicks in the Detroit Free Press attacked the quality of care provided in Michigan’s skilled nursing facilities and was an outrageous distortion of the facts.  While I appreciate efforts to draw attention to those living in skilled nursing facilities, the statements made were an attempt to shock and scare the elderly and are completely unfounded.

This was an unnecessary and unwarranted attack on the people who go to work each day with the sole purpose and mission to take care of the frail elderly and the disabled. Long-term care facilities provide quality, skilled, compassionate nursing care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

For some of the residents in our facilities, our staff is the only family they have and a constant source of support. Our facilities encourage interaction with family members and make the holidays a special time of the year.

Abuse of the elderly on any level or in any setting should never be tolerated. To say this is going on more often than not is at best fear mongering and at worst emotional abuse of senior citizens. Nursing facilities are one of the most regulated professions in the state, with approximately 1,000 state and federal regulations. Michigan citizens should take comfort in the dedication of the employees and the quality of care provided.

Michigan’s long-term care providers are not only seeing to a resident’s basic needs but also working to improve their quality of life. There are great things going on in facilities throughout the state with dedicated employees providing quality care despite under-funding from Medicaid. The employees of nursing and rehabilitation facilities deserve our support and unending gratitude not an attack in a newspaper.

I encourage you to get involved at your local nursing and rehabilitation facility.  Volunteer and see the quality of care provided with your own eyes.

-Jon Reardon is the owner of Hoyt Nursing and Rehab Centre and the Chair of the Board of the Health Care Association of Michigan. HCAM is dedicated to promoting excellence in senior care.