Open house in 2009 drew scores of visitors to expanded Brian's House facility in Bay City. LEAN HEALTH CARE: County Commission Backs Campaign to Replace Brian's House
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In Bay City and Flint the most volatile healthcare issue is the closing of two Brian's House facilities last fall.
The hospital has created a task force and has set up a hotline at 1-855-746-4615 to deal with citizen questions about the service.
A local group headed by Jackie Delorge and several former nurses from Brian's House has mounted a campaign to get McLaren Health Care approval to lease the seven room addition for a "guest house."
The group also is seeking funding for its project from hospital reserves that may be available after the closing of the Bay City Brian's House.
(See mybaycity.com Nov. 1, 2009, "$1.2 Million Brian's House Expansion Draws 200 Open House Visitors.")
The group, comprised of about 30 members, is filing papers to establish a non-profit organization and has hired an attorney and an accounting firm while gathering supporters.
A Facebook page entitled "Saving Brian's House" is up and running and news media reports have publicized the group's complaints and goals.
The Bay County Commission unanimously adopted a resolution last month backing the citizen effort but the Bay City Commission has yet to act on the request for support, according to Mrs. Delorge.
The county resolution reads in part: "The lives of everyone in our community have been touched by Brian's House and the loss of that facility leaves a significant void." The commission urges McLaren Home Care and McLaren Bay Region "to explore all avenues that will result in reopening Brian's House or a facility like Brian's House that will serve the needs of the community."
The healthcare environment is changing under pressure of increasing costs that are causing turmoil and misunderstanding. Citizens are challenged to understand the needs of management while seeking the level of services formerly provided.
A national healthcare consulting group comments: "Hospitals today are under tremendous strain. Reimbursement levels are dropping, revenues are declining, and costs are climbing. A look at operating margins confirms the problem!
"The natural reaction is to cut costs and hospitals have developed extensive experience at implementing cost cutting campaigns to maintain profitability. While these efforts have made a difference, profit margins continue to shrink from year to year.
McLaren has released a statement about Brian's House: "The goal of hospice is to care for patients who are dying, providing pain and symptom control, and a variety of other physical, social, spiritual, and emotional support. Hospice care is delivered in the home, the hospital, a skilled nursing home or in one of several types of hospice facilities.
"Brian's House was first conceived in the mid 1990s, several years after local native Brian Straub returned home from California and passed away from complications associated with AIDS. Brian's parents, Joanna and Ken Straub, worked with the local hospice program to create a six-bed facility in Hampton Township.
"By 2006, when the new Brian's House was completed on the West Campus, demand was high and a waiting list was created. Since reimbursement provided by the Medicare program for skilled inpatient hospice remained adequate, it was decided that a seven bed addition was needed.
"Beginning in 2009, the Medicare program made significant reductions in reimbursement for the type of care delivered at Brian's House. Because of these cuts in reimbursement, the cost to operate Brian's House today is now more than $1 million dollars more per year than what is paid for by Medicare. The financial drain was simply unsustainable.
"The closing of Brian's House does not mean the end of hospice care in Bay County. Far from it. Hospice continues in homes, nursing homes and the hospital. Hospitalized patients can be transferred to hospice by getting a referral from their physicians.
"If available, rooms 375 or 377 at McLaren Bay Region will be used for these patients. These rooms have been decorated and outfitted for this purpose. As long as patients are qualified for inpatient services we will help manage them in the hospital. When their symptoms are being managed effectively, they will need to be moved to a more appropriate supportive environment. Examples would include home, Tony and Trish's House, extended care facility, adult foster care, etc. The staff of the hospice program will assist in all the arrangements.
"For those who have concerns for themselves or their loved ones regarding hospice care, we encourage you to call the toll free hotline established during these changes. We welcome opinions and input.
"We share the sentiments of many in the Bay City community including anger and disappointment. Because this 19-bed facility is closely associated with our community and the memory of Brian Straub, the Board of Directors of McLaren Bay Region has agreed to create a task force to review options for facility-based hospice care along with options for the potential uses of the Brian's House building.
Information requests may be sent to kurt.miller@mclaren.org.
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