Three Minor Citations Reported in Long Term Care Survey
By Ryan Schlehuber

The Long Term Care facility at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace received a good rating for its staff work and procedures by the state Department of Community Health (DCH) Thursday, February 28, with only three minor citations reported. None of the three complaints were related to resident care and none were on a harmful level, said Barbara Phillips, a surveyor with the state's Division of Nursing Home Monitoring. She and Bob Bree spent a week at Long Term Care assessing staff responsibilities, residential rooms, and daily care practices and procedures staff must follow.

The three citations included providing larger privacy curtains for residents, improving standards for a clean and safe environment, and returning resident trust funds to families sooner. Mackinac Straits Hospital was directed to submit a plan of corrections by Sunday, March 9, and must make the corrections by April 18, said Barb Davis, director of nursing for Long Term Care.

Mr. Bree said 11 rooms had privacy curtains that were shorter than the state's requirements. He said residents should be provided curtains that cover them entirely for visual privacy.

In improving safety at the facility, Ms. Phillips observed an enddwelling catheter privacy bag touching the ground as a resident was wheeled to the dining area on three occasions.

She also said some reclining chairs were missing caps on arm rests that protect people from being cut or jabbed from the sharp metal edges.

Long Term Care residents set up trust funds for personal services, like haircuts, or for afternoon trips with a group. The state requires the trust funds to be returned within 30 days after a resident has been discharged or dies.

The hospital was not misusing funds or missing any funding, Ms. Phillips said, rather, it needs to speed up the process of returning the funds.

She also said staff must better update care plans for residents, saying, "The paperwork was sloppy."

"We've talked with a lot of the staff, residents, and their families, and the majority had positive things to say," said Mr. Bree. "Observations that I have seen was that interactions with all staff were positive."

"I've been coming here for 10 years now, and I've seen a great improvement over the years," Ms. Phillips added.