Saturday, October 19, 2002

A Michigan State University study criticizes the state's lax oversight of assisted-living facilities and tentatively recommends all such homes be licensed.

And some area legislators agree more oversight is needed.

The report was released on Sept. 24, less than two weeks before a fire claimed the lives of five elderly patients at an unlicensed group home on W. Coldwater Road in Mt. Morris Township.

Maureen Mickus, an MSU assistant professor who conducted the study, said the state has been aware of problems with unlicensed homes, but has taken no action.

"Until there's enough tragedies, nothing seems to get done," Mickus said. "People assumed that these places were providing some type of care that could be trusted, so there hasn't been any outcry or demand."

Whether the Oct. 7 tragedy in Mt. Morris Township will spur state action remains to be seen.

The state ruled in 1996 that Esther Johnson was unfit to operate an assisted-living facility when she ran a licensed home on Alfred Street in Genesee Township.

According to information provided to The Journal through the Freedom of Information Act, Johnson was on disability from General Motors because she suffered from depression. The report said the depression was so severe that she could not operate a group home.

But she later opened an unlicensed home, which is permitted by state law as long as the level of care does not exceed a complicated threshold system set up by the state.

Relatives of residents said she did a good job of caring for the 11 residents, many of whom suffered from Alzheimer's or other mental problems.

According to the MSU report, there appears to be no differences among the type of patients served at licensed or unlicensed homes. They are often poor, elderly or mentally ill.

Mickus said on Friday that researchers even had a difficult time finding unlicensed homes for the study because there's no way to track them.

While licensed facilities must meet standards and be inspected, unlicensed homes can offer poor care and often not suffer any state repercussions, the report said.

The report says that the patients in unlicensed homes are "vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation ."

But Irma Zuckerberg, director of adult foster care licensing for the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services, said the state mandates that those who can't take care of themselves be served by a licensed home. She said the state can only respond to concerns about unlicensed homes if they receive a complaint. They have had about 100 over the past two years.

"We don't want to require somebody to be regulated if they don't need to be regulated," Zuckerberg said. "There's no simple answer. Nothing is yes or no, black or white."

This week, state Rep. Vera Rison, D-Mt. Morris Twp., who must leave the state House next year due to term limits, said there should be a new law to regulate the unlicensed homes.

And Democrat John Gleason of Flushing, who is running for the 48th District state House seat that covers much of northern Genesee County, said something needs to be done.

"Now is the time to respond to this, now that the tragedy is still fresh," Gleason said. "If you're responsible for running these homes, you should have some qualifications to operate the places."

State Sen. Robert Emerson, D-Flint, also called for increased regulation.

"For places offering any type of assisted-living services, we ought to look into licensing them," Emerson said.

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