JULY 28, 1998 - Department of Consumer & Industry Services Director Kathleen M. Wilbur today announced that a new 24-hour hotline for nursing home emergencies will go on line Aug. 1, 1998. The system will serve the approximately 610 licensed health facilities delivering long-term care throughout the state. This new system augments the CIS Complaint Hotline that residents and their families use to report concerns or incidents. The complaint hotline,1-800-882-6006, is staffed by CIS professionals during business hours and available for messages 24 hours a day.

"In an emergency every minute counts," said Wilbur. "This hotline will allow us to help our licensees more quickly when they are facing an emergency situation ranging from an unusual accident or resident death to physical plant challenges like loss of power or severe weather damage."

The new emergency notification system does not replace or affect the duty of a health facility to take immediate action to protect their residents in the case of emergencies and does not replace the mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect or mistreatment of residents to the Department and law enforcement officials. Information on the new emergency hotline is being sent directly to nursing homes and homes for the aged.

Following are some of the events that are required to be reported.

• Any event which has resulted in the unnatural or unusual death of a resident or a crime involving a resident murder, rape, or serious assault.
  
• A resident missing without knowledge of the resident's whereabouts.
  
• Serious facility service problems, such as a fire or natural disaster which requires evacuation of residents, or a loss of heat, power, water or food service for more than 4 hours, or a critical lack of staff, such as from severe weather, labor dispute or widespread illness, which has a critical impact on resident care.

"The new hotline will assure appropriate state involvement, even during non-business hours and weekends," said Walt Wheeler, Director of the Bureau of Health Systems, the CIS bureau charged with licensing health facilities including nursing homes.

Read more Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services press releases.