News

Mon, 07/13/2020

Many nursing homes have had more difficulty than usual finding and retaining staff members during the COVID-19 crisis, according to State Long Term Care Ombudsman Salli Pung, who hears many concerns from residents, family, and staff statewide.

Thu, 07/09/2020

Posted at 3:42 PM, Jul 07, 2020 and last updated 3:42 PM, Jul 07, 2020 LANSING, Mich. — Several Lansing-area names have been added to the Michigan Nursing Homes COVID-19 Task Force.

Tue, 07/07/2020

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced appointments to the Michigan Nursing Homes COVID-19 Preparedness Task Force. See news report here.

Mon, 07/06/2020

Sally Pung, the state ombudsman for long term care, fears the isolation is literally killing people, saying she’s hearing from some of the state’s larger guardianship organizations that nursing-home deaths are up, not just from COVID-19 but because “some of the residents have just given up.” Read article

Fri, 06/26/2020

The task force will be comprised Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon or his designee, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director Orlene Hawks, the state long-term care Ombudsman Salli Pung or her designee, two Whitmer appointees each from the state House and Senate and 13 more Whitmer appointees with “personal or professional interest in the health, safety, and welfare

Tue, 06/23/2020

"We have not heard complaints directly related to the hub units," Pung said last week.

Fri, 06/19/2020

But Salli Pung, the Michigan state long-term care ombudsman, said Friday she believes the creation of the regional hubs in existing facilities was the "appropriate choice" for "meeting the unique care needs of people requiring nursing facility level of care." Read the article

Fri, 06/19/2020

“They lose their caregivers, their roommate, everything that’s familiar to them in their facility. And all the sudden they’re in a different home,” said Alison Hirschel, managing attorney for the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative. Read more here.

Mon, 06/15/2020

“I feel conflicted because now that we have the data, it’s tragic,” Alison Hirschel, managing attorney at the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative, said of the nursing home numbers.

Wed, 06/10/2020

Alison Hirschel, managing attorney for the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative, a Lansing-based nonprofit advocacy organization, said friends and relatives of loved ones in these other long-term facilities deserve this information now.

“Just like in a nursing home, families are concerned and residents are concerned to know if there is COVID-19 in the building,” she told Bridge. “Are these facilities taking precautions to protect residents?”

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