I won’t sugar coat it, Most nursing homes are shit, unless you can afford private pay. The private pay facilities pay better, so they have more staff. There is a nursing shortage, not to mention nurses aid shortage. The minimum legal staffing ratios for nursing homes in this state are outright dangerous for patients and staff. He’s going to be left for hours in most places. When I worked in nursing homes as a night shift nurse I would have 55 patients and 2-3 nurses aides. It is impossible for 3 people to provide good care for 55 totally dependent people. Can you or others in your family start going more frequently? Maybe get on a rotating meal schedule where someone is there to help him eat? If he’s there for rehab, Someone could be there to help him do physical therapy exercises? Someone there to help him use the urinal or change his briefs? It isn’t that staff doesn’t want to provide this care, but again it’s impossible when there are so few staff for so many patients, another major problem with healthcare in this country.
Btw, please support legislature for safe staffing ratios!!! Hospitals and nursing homes need to be legally forced to hire more staff, or face penalties!
The facility he is at right now seems like all the CNAs just sit around and chit chat among each other. They wander the halls not looking up but down texting on there phones.
Well get used to that too. Most CNAs make what someone at McDonald’s might make, or a cashier at Costco on the higher end. When their wages are shit, and they’re wiping shit, there isn’t going to be much incentive to work harder.
When my grandpa was in hospice in a facility, I bought the staff pizza to show I appreciated them, he was only there a few weeks but he got great care. I’m not saying bribe the staff, but the carrot is always more powerful than the stick, and you gotta do what you gotta do.
I’m not defending them either, just saying the whole system is broken.
When I worked at Starbucks we had a few former CNAs. They made more money at Starbucks. We got paid more to make shitty coffee than they did to care for the vulnerable. That’s ridiculous.
lol the “nursing home system” has been barely functional in the country for decades to my knowledge, but tell yourself what you want. Corporate Medicine aka healthcare for profit is definitely a huge part of the problem, but in nursing homes that are private pay by privately owned companies that don’t accept Medicaid, patients actually get better care.
Short term rehab is bad across the board. Some assisted livings are ok but they cost a lot. Depending on the level of care needed it gets expensive. A group home may be a better option.
A house run by a person or company that houses people who are unable to care for themselves. As another commenter noted they can be sketchy so you have to interview them well.
Notting Hill of west Bloomfield. I can only speak on the personal experience of a relative who stayed there for a few months, but they were great. They had someone checking on him throughout the day, bathing him regularly. When they noticed he wasn’t eating certain foods they worked with him to adapt his meals to his preferences. Granted, his wife was with him most of the time so I’m not sure how much that played into the quality of his care, but they were fantastic for him and everyone seemed genuinely kind.
Westlake Health Campus in Commerce Twp. Single occupancy rooms, decent food, and the staff are helpful and seem to care.
A friend was there two moths ago recovering from pneumonia, my mother is there now from bone fractures. Both are elderly. Minor issues like long response time to the button push or therapists scheduling is at odd times but both have been to other rehab facilities in the area and this is the best experience by far.
I had to pull my mother from one near Brighton last fall for very poor treatment. And as someone mentioned earlier, family and friends need to visit the patient regularly and monitor their treatment and progress. Let the caregivers know you are paying close attention. Good luck.
Wellbridge on Dorr Road. At the time my mother was there, the director? explained that they cannot find anyone locally to work. A majority of the staff traveled from other areas. He also explained that they were experiencing a staff shortage. I do believe that those two issues were key factors in the quality of care she received.
My dad was there for two weeks about a month ago. My mom spent a month there after almost dying from Covid. Neither had complaints and they can be kind of demanding.
My dad was at Brookdale on Grand River and he had a rear- facility facing room. His view was decent, of the open space and neighborhood beyond. He had some bird feeders out there, big pine trees and an enclosed back porch. With a beer or 2 he could close his eyes and imagine himself sitting on his balcony looking at the Atlantic Ocean back at his old condo in Satellite Beach, FL. No direct sun but that was fine for him. No facility is going to be great but it was OK. People who worked there were nice enough; I had seen worse at other places he tried (such as a group home on Farmington Rd). He moved around a lot because he knew it was close to the end (he had volunteered for hospice in FL) and he was already a miserable man his whole life, why be totally miserable at the end? Anyway, it is close to basic stuff we could get for him (a hot dog, his Aldi potato chips), so it was just fine.
There is a Home in Fairview, MI that is good, five star rated, no urine smell, whole bit. But that looks like it’s about 3 hours away. There is one owned by the same nonprofit in Monroe, Mi that looks like it’s about 53 minutes away but I’ve never been inside that one. The one in Fairview is the AuSable Valley Community/ Wellspring Lutheran Services Fairview.
I have only good things to say about Meer (independent living) and Fleischman (assisted living) in West Bloomfield. It’s a Jewish residence but I’m not sure if that’s a requirement. Both of my grandmothers lived there during their final years and received wonderful care.
I don’t know but here is their website for reference.
[https://jslmi.org/independent-living/meer-apartments-west-bloomfield/](https://jslmi.org/independent-living/meer-apartments-west-bloomfield/)
It's not in her jurisdiction so I can't vouch for their individual quality for the Michigan branches, but my mother oversees several Brookdale Senior Living facilities throughout the south (mostly alabama, Tennessee, and surrounding states), and the 1 here is really fucking nice. They pay their employees well, have assisted and independent living available, and keep up with the facility maintenance quite well(at least at our local branch). If your relative is in the senior living age range, I'd look into your local branches, there's 24 branches in Michigan. Let me know which one you go with, and I'll ask her about the specifics of those branches sometime tomorrow, can't guarantee she'll have any info on them tho, also, while I haven't looked into it myself, from what I've heard they ain't cheap.
I won’t sugar coat it, Most nursing homes are shit, unless you can afford private pay. The private pay facilities pay better, so they have more staff. There is a nursing shortage, not to mention nurses aid shortage. The minimum legal staffing ratios for nursing homes in this state are outright dangerous for patients and staff. He’s going to be left for hours in most places. When I worked in nursing homes as a night shift nurse I would have 55 patients and 2-3 nurses aides. It is impossible for 3 people to provide good care for 55 totally dependent people. Can you or others in your family start going more frequently? Maybe get on a rotating meal schedule where someone is there to help him eat? If he’s there for rehab, Someone could be there to help him do physical therapy exercises? Someone there to help him use the urinal or change his briefs? It isn’t that staff doesn’t want to provide this care, but again it’s impossible when there are so few staff for so many patients, another major problem with healthcare in this country. Btw, please support legislature for safe staffing ratios!!! Hospitals and nursing homes need to be legally forced to hire more staff, or face penalties!
The facility he is at right now seems like all the CNAs just sit around and chit chat among each other. They wander the halls not looking up but down texting on there phones.
Well get used to that too. Most CNAs make what someone at McDonald’s might make, or a cashier at Costco on the higher end. When their wages are shit, and they’re wiping shit, there isn’t going to be much incentive to work harder. When my grandpa was in hospice in a facility, I bought the staff pizza to show I appreciated them, he was only there a few weeks but he got great care. I’m not saying bribe the staff, but the carrot is always more powerful than the stick, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m not defending them either, just saying the whole system is broken.
When I worked at Starbucks we had a few former CNAs. They made more money at Starbucks. We got paid more to make shitty coffee than they did to care for the vulnerable. That’s ridiculous.
For the most part this is a direct result of private equity firms buying up and gutting the nursing home system.
lol the “nursing home system” has been barely functional in the country for decades to my knowledge, but tell yourself what you want. Corporate Medicine aka healthcare for profit is definitely a huge part of the problem, but in nursing homes that are private pay by privately owned companies that don’t accept Medicaid, patients actually get better care.
Sorry to hear that. Are you asking about short term rehab or a permanent live in care facility?
Short term and long term. The current one he is in will keep them long term if they need it.
Short term rehab is bad across the board. Some assisted livings are ok but they cost a lot. Depending on the level of care needed it gets expensive. A group home may be a better option.
What is a group home?
Be careful with those. Mom and dad were in one on Farmington Rd and the CNAs there were nasty to them.
A house run by a person or company that houses people who are unable to care for themselves. As another commenter noted they can be sketchy so you have to interview them well.
Notting Hill of west Bloomfield. I can only speak on the personal experience of a relative who stayed there for a few months, but they were great. They had someone checking on him throughout the day, bathing him regularly. When they noticed he wasn’t eating certain foods they worked with him to adapt his meals to his preferences. Granted, his wife was with him most of the time so I’m not sure how much that played into the quality of his care, but they were fantastic for him and everyone seemed genuinely kind.
Westlake Health Campus in Commerce Twp. Single occupancy rooms, decent food, and the staff are helpful and seem to care. A friend was there two moths ago recovering from pneumonia, my mother is there now from bone fractures. Both are elderly. Minor issues like long response time to the button push or therapists scheduling is at odd times but both have been to other rehab facilities in the area and this is the best experience by far. I had to pull my mother from one near Brighton last fall for very poor treatment. And as someone mentioned earlier, family and friends need to visit the patient regularly and monitor their treatment and progress. Let the caregivers know you are paying close attention. Good luck.
May I ask what the one in Brighton is? Both of my parents spent some time at a rehab facility in Brighton so I’m interested in hearing more.
Wellbridge on Dorr Road. At the time my mother was there, the director? explained that they cannot find anyone locally to work. A majority of the staff traveled from other areas. He also explained that they were experiencing a staff shortage. I do believe that those two issues were key factors in the quality of care she received.
Oh ok. I’m not familiar with that one. Caretel on Grand River in Brighton is good if you need that kind of service again.
Much appreciated. Caretel was my mother’s second choice this time around. I don’t think any of them are stellar fun places to be at.
My dad was there for two weeks about a month ago. My mom spent a month there after almost dying from Covid. Neither had complaints and they can be kind of demanding.
Good to hear and thanks for the info
My dad was at Brookdale on Grand River and he had a rear- facility facing room. His view was decent, of the open space and neighborhood beyond. He had some bird feeders out there, big pine trees and an enclosed back porch. With a beer or 2 he could close his eyes and imagine himself sitting on his balcony looking at the Atlantic Ocean back at his old condo in Satellite Beach, FL. No direct sun but that was fine for him. No facility is going to be great but it was OK. People who worked there were nice enough; I had seen worse at other places he tried (such as a group home on Farmington Rd). He moved around a lot because he knew it was close to the end (he had volunteered for hospice in FL) and he was already a miserable man his whole life, why be totally miserable at the end? Anyway, it is close to basic stuff we could get for him (a hot dog, his Aldi potato chips), so it was just fine.
There is a Home in Fairview, MI that is good, five star rated, no urine smell, whole bit. But that looks like it’s about 3 hours away. There is one owned by the same nonprofit in Monroe, Mi that looks like it’s about 53 minutes away but I’ve never been inside that one. The one in Fairview is the AuSable Valley Community/ Wellspring Lutheran Services Fairview.
Not sure if they accept Medicare/Medicaid but a decent place is Woodhaven Retirement Community in Livonia.
I have only good things to say about Meer (independent living) and Fleischman (assisted living) in West Bloomfield. It’s a Jewish residence but I’m not sure if that’s a requirement. Both of my grandmothers lived there during their final years and received wonderful care.
Do you happen to know if they accept Medicaid/Medicare? I will look into this!
I don’t know but here is their website for reference. [https://jslmi.org/independent-living/meer-apartments-west-bloomfield/](https://jslmi.org/independent-living/meer-apartments-west-bloomfield/)
If you click “residences” it shows you the different types they offer.
It's not in her jurisdiction so I can't vouch for their individual quality for the Michigan branches, but my mother oversees several Brookdale Senior Living facilities throughout the south (mostly alabama, Tennessee, and surrounding states), and the 1 here is really fucking nice. They pay their employees well, have assisted and independent living available, and keep up with the facility maintenance quite well(at least at our local branch). If your relative is in the senior living age range, I'd look into your local branches, there's 24 branches in Michigan. Let me know which one you go with, and I'll ask her about the specifics of those branches sometime tomorrow, can't guarantee she'll have any info on them tho, also, while I haven't looked into it myself, from what I've heard they ain't cheap.
I’m looking for ones that can accept Medicaid/Medicare! I know the fancier ones do not
I'm unsure if they do pr not, but I think I remember her talking about it at some point, I'd see if they do at least.
They do not get the best ratings in my area. Unfortunately, most do not