Well, let's see..the 4 facilities they own in Michigan are operating without a license and they never informed residents or their families of this change, which took place in October of 2010. We found out 6 months after the fact and only because I had contacted an ombudsman about the bad care my mom was receiving. My mom lived at the Bowman House in Three Rivers, Michigan for 2 years until the care got so bad we needed to move her and the licensure change being kept a secret was the icing on the cake! \r
I was told by the ombudsman that the state of MI was getting ready to close the doors on the 4 facilities this company operates in MI and that is when they hired an outside food provider to cater to the residents. Licensed homes provide room, board and care..but if just one outside entity provides just one of those items, they can remain open without a license and I guess they feel they don't have to tell anyone. BUT, part of the mission statement for the CEO's of the company says they are to act honestly and ethically...HUMMM, is this honestly and ethically?? \r
In the two years my mom lived there, she escaped 2 times and we were never told. Her toenails grew so long they were poking holes in her socks and her foot was infected. She was allowed to eat 1/2 a styrofoam banana and then allowed to keep the other 1/2 for a snack later, I guess! Was allowed to eat off a bar of soap because she said they told her it was fudge. Mom has dementia, if you haven't realized by now. Would get meals if she remembered it was meal time because they didn't make sure she arrived to the dining room for EVERY meal. She was allowed to eat cookies & crackers all day long from the unlimited supply of junk food. She fell after a return trip to the ER at 3:30 in the morning and being groggy from pain meds they put her in her bed (she hadn't slep in a bed in 2 years), and they found her on the floor 7 hours later. So, 9 days after the fall, she finally saw the visiting physician who ordered x-rays. 6 days later she finally had her x-rays and then the nurse at the facility told me that she doesn't get the reports from tests like that I have to call the dr. So I call the dr. and they tell me they fax all results to the home and they can give me the results. What gives??\r
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My dad asked for copies of my moms records in April and kept getting put off...they're not done, yet!! Dad is the court appointed guardian, mind you. So finally after we had given notice that mom was moving out, the director told dad that the records had been sent to corporate office. The day after mom moved out, I called Tom Burgulis, the regional director for the Heartland region and he told me that dad had to ask for the copies in writing, send it to corporate office and the corporate attorney would decide which copies my dad, who is guardian, could have...oops! ALCCO...you're wrong there..my dad is entitled to all records!!\r
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Another home in MI, owned by them, is the Sojourner Home in Kalamazoo and they had a fire in January 2011 in which the local news anchor got an award for covering the news and allowing residents to sit in their van. At that time, this home wasn't licensed, either.
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