LANSING, Mich.— The national Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund have launched an initiative to improve nursing home operations and resident quality of life in Michigan.
Over the next six months, the initiative plans to convene a team of state government leaders, experts, clinicians, advocates and residents along with national Moving Forward Coalition leaders to address nursing home quality improvement opportunities in Michigan based on action plans from the coalition. The initiatives may include creating stronger career pathways for certified nursing assistants.
“The enormous potential to immediately improve nursing home quality is palpable, especially in a state like Michigan,” says Alice Bonner, chair of the Moving Forward Coalition. “The state is strongly poised to mirror our national coalition, which represents a full range of perspectives and is laser focused on taking concrete collaborative action.”
The coalition is developing its action plans in response to the 2022 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality. They include specific actions that nursing homes and policy makers can take to improve nursing home workforce development, financing, ownership transparency, health information technology readiness, person-centered care, resident council best practices and state survey processes.
To support the next phase of the project, the coalition is currently developing a grant proposal.
“We know that many nursing homes across Michigan are in need of assistance and resources to ensure that the best care possible is being delivered to older adults and that the people who work in these facilities are properly supported,” syas Kari Sederburg, vice president of programs and director of the Healthy Aging Initiative at the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. “This investment in Michigan’s nursing homes is meant to help our state engage with the right stakeholders and collectively advance proven measures that will improve outcomes for those residing in facilities today and in the future.”