Advantages of a County Medical Care Facility

County Medical Care Facilities (or county nursing homes), have several advantages over private, for-profit operated facilities.

County Medical Care Facilities:

Have increased funding through special state and federal programs which allow for higher staffing levels and high-quality outcomes for residents.

• Bay Bluffs receives more than $2.5 million in additional revenue based on the fact that we are a county medical facility – these funds are NOT available to private, for-profit companies.

Are locally governed, by the people -not a set of corporate shareholders - which allows for a county to design and control the quality and type of services provided, most especially ensuring that vulnerable seniors requiring complex medical care in a long-term care setting have access to such services.

Are safety net providers, improving access for community residents whose medical care requirements or financial capacity to pay would otherwise hamper placement in a private nursing home or assisted living.

• County medical care facilities were created to care for those with limited financial resources, serving 25-40% more residents with lower income than private facilities.

Public non-profit status encourages reinvestment in services the community wants and needs, and provide good paying jobs that benefit the local economy.

Other Important Facts About Bay Bluffs

• Emmet County does not support the operation of Bay Bluffs financially - we are entirely self-sufficient – utilizing revenue from Medicaid, Medicare and private pay residents to cover operating expenses annually.
• In the last three years, Bay Bluffs has put more than $1 million of our own cash balance into replacing equipment, bringing the building up to new Life Safety Code requirements, over-funding our employee retirement plan, and ensuring market competitive wages for nursing staff.
• The people of Emmet County have only been asked to support the capital needs of the facility twice in the 55 year history – once upon original construction and again in 2001 for renovations to accommodate more residents.
• We employ 190+ people and care for more than 300 frail elders annually.
• Comparative data regarding private, for-profit facilities show the following trends when non-profit or public nursing homes are converted to private ownership:
  •  Decrease in staffing by 15-20%
  • Decrease in quality of care rating
    
  • And most importantly, a decrease in acceptance of Medicaid residents by more than 25% after transition to a private corporate structure

Converting Bay Bluffs from a county medical care facility ownership model to a private, for-profit model will impact quality of care and limit access to care while reducing staffing in order to create a profit for corporate shareholders.