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If you or a relative live in a nursing home, the owner of that home should want to make sure you are satisfied with the care provided. You are their customer. However, many nursing home residents and their representatives do not know how to contact the owner about any problems they experience. This Fact Sheet explains when and how to contact a nursing home owner to express concerns you may have.

Nursing homes are owned by individuals, partnerships and corporations. The majority of nursing homes are owned by corporations. Most of the corporate owned nursing homes are private for-profit facilities. In Michigan, less than 25 percent of nursing homes are run by non-profit corporations. Most f the non-profit nursing homes are run by religious or fraternal organizations, hospitals, or county government.

Most nursing homes in Michigan are owned or operated by a person or corporation who owns, fully or partly, several nursing homes. The three largest for-profit chains in the state are:

1. Tender care Nursing Homes Michigan, a Michigan corporation controlled by a Canadian organization.
2. Health Care and Retirement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Owens-Illinois of Toledo, Ohio.
3. GranCare of California.

The largest non-profit chain is Mercy Services for Aging of Farmington Hills, Michigan. Michigan counties operate 38 nursing homes called county medical care facilities which are mostly in rural areas of the State. There are a number of hospital long-term care units which are also located in rural areas.

If you would like to find out how to contact the owner of a particular nursing home, contact your local ombudsman office for assistance.

Under federal law, all Medicare and Medicaid approved nursing homes must have a governing body. The governing body establishes policies for the management and operation of the home and appoints an administrator to run the facility. The owner often serves on the nursing home’s governing body.

One of the policies a governing body must establish is a grievance procedure. The nursing home should have written policies how to file a complaint with the facility. This policy should tell you how to contact the governing body if you are not satisfied with the response from the home’s staff.

When you experience a problem in a nursing home, it is good to work up the chain of command to seek attention to your concern. For example, if you are concerned about a nursing problem, you might start by contacting the charge nurse on duty. If that contact is not effective, you should consider contacting the Director of Nursing, and nest, the administrator of the home.

If the administrator and other staff members do not address your concerns in a satisfactory manner, you can go beyond the nursing home’s staff to get help. A number of options exist including filing a formal complaint with the Michigan Department Bureau of Health Systems (MDBHS) or other regulatory agencies, seeking legal assistance or contacting your local ombudsman for help.

Another option is to contact the owner or governing body of the nursing home. If you would like to do so, it is best to put your complaint in writing and to ask for a written response. By putting your complain in writing, you can later show other that your gave the home an opportunity to address your concerns.

Owners who care about their business will take your concerns seriously. While the owner may not directly resolve your problem, they have the authority to make changes at the home. Just contacting the owner may convince the nursing home staff to take your concerns more seriously.

On the other hand, your concerns may be caused by the owner’s or governing body’s operating policies. For example, if the owner does not supply funds to hire competent staff members or by needed supplies, the problems you see may be directly caused by the owner’s policies. If this is the case, your contact with the owner may not solve the problem but may be useful in other ways.

For instance, if legal action is taken later, the owner’s failure to respond to your concerns may strengthen your case. Copies of your letters and other information may also help state or federal inspectors document problems and enable enforcement actions to be taken.

Federal and state laws give you the right to the nursing home or outside sources without discrimination or retaliation. If you do complain, the nursing home must make "prompt efforts" to resolve your concerns.

Please contact your local ombudsman office if you need help contacting the owner of a nursing home in Michigan.

Rev: 97, 98, 99, 03/00, 03/04