Welcome Michael!
Carla Wilton, COO welcomes Michael Weideman, LPN as the Administrator in Training for the Immanuel Skilled Care Center and The Retreat at Buffalo Hill.
Michael Weideman graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health and Human Performance, and a Licensure in Teaching K-12 Physical Education and Health.
Upon moving back to the Flathead Valley in 2008, Michael started working with children who had autism for the rural schools in the Kalispell area. In 2012, Michael received his Licensure in Nursing and has been working at Immanuel Living ever since.
Michael has overseen Assisted Living services at Buffalo Hill Terrace as the Assisted Living Director since 2016, and in 2022 began pursuing his Nursing Home Administrator’s license to take on the role of Administrator at the Immanuel Skilled Care Center.
(Kalispell, MT) – Immanuel Living has been awarded a grant through the Child Care Innovation and Infrastructure Grant under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) administered by the state totaling nearly $900,000. These funds will support a childcare initiative by Immanuel to support staffing challenges presented by the lack of childcare availability in the Flathead Valley.
Jason R. Cronk, President and CEO of Immanuel Living says, “this award fully funds 100% of our request to open a new early learning center, which we have named ‘Growing Roots Early Learning Center’ in Kalispell, MT, and we are targeting 2023 for our full grand opening.”
This new early learning center will serve approximately 74 children ages zero to five, and meets a huge community need, not only for the staff at Immanuel Living, but also for other families in the area struggling to find available childcare.
To learn more about this initiative, please contact Leigh Ann Downie-Economy at LDownie@ilcorp.org.
“Who will take care of us?” It is a question I was recently told an elderly gentleman asked when informed that the nursing home where his wife receives care is closing. It made me sad to think that this man has been put in a position to have to ask that question.
If anyone had asked me that just a few years ago I would have answered: “We have a safety net for our elderly. He and his wife will be cared for in their old age if they are unable to take care of themselves.” Today, my response would be “I don’t know.” Those in a position to make a difference don’t seem to care.
Since the beginning of the year seven nursing homes in Montana have closed or are closing. These facilities are in Ronan, Hamilton, Missoula, Malta, Hardin, Red Lodge and Bozeman. Malta, Hardin and Red Lodge will be left without any nursing home. Ronan and Hamilton are down to one facility. In Bozeman, Gallatin Rest Home will be the only available facility. It has 69 beds, with some of those beds devoted to short-term rehab. Valley View Home in Glasgow was also seriously considering closure but got a reprieve due to help from the community and local hospital. How long that lasts is uncertain.
Why is this happening?
The pandemic has dealt the final blow to care facilities that were already struggling. Nearly 70% of nursing home residents are on Medicaid — and Medicaid rates have been too low for a long time. The pandemic brought huge cost increases for infection control, new regulations for testing, screening, quarantine and isolation and because of labor shortages that brought big increases in wages, benefits and incentives and also required increased use of expensive contract labor, or “travelers” as they are called. During 2020 and 2021 facilities received help from the state and federal governments — but all the help stopped — even though COVID-19 hasn’t stopped. In the past year, there have been three separate waves of COVID outbreaks in our facilities and in Montana. One outbreak earlier this year reached higher levels than the original outbreak back in 2020.
The Medicaid rate for nursing home care is $212.57 per day. According to DPHHS contractor Myers & Stauffer, the cost of a day of nursing home care in Montana for FY 2021 was $277.93 — a shortfall of $65.36 per day for every Medicaid patient a nursing home serves! Costs have increased substantially since June of 2021 — labor costs continue to grow by leaps and bounds and we are now facing double digit inflation — so the shortfall is greater.
A DPHHS study on Medicaid rate adequacy has determined that paying rates that cover the costs of the services studied would cost $87 million a year, with the state general fund share being about $27 million. That does NOT include the nursing home shortfall which is still being “studied.”
DPHHS and the current administration were warned months ago that nursing homes would close and elderly residents displaced unless a short-term solution was found for the grossly inadequate Medicaid rates. Nursing homes were not asking for a handout. They simply asked that Medicaid rates reasonably reflect the new normal in terms of labor costs and inflation. Despite a surplus in the nursing home part of the budget, no help was offered. The closures are happening and are likely to continue.
So, to answer the gentleman — until the state stops shirking its responsibility regarding Medicaid rates, I don’t know who is going to take care of you and other older Montanans. And that saddens me.
Rose Hughes is the executive director of the Montana Health Care Association, an association of long-term care facilities and services throughout the state of Montana.
When older Americans need quality care and services that empower them to remain independent, safe, and healthy, too many are being faced with unnecessary challenges.
As a care provider for older adults at Immanuel Living in Kalispell, I continually witness the longstanding and severe workforce shortages that are facing aging services every day. These shortages, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, have made long-term care services unavailable to many older adults in need.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 229,000 professional caregivers have left the aging services sector since February 2020, and more than 60 percent of nursing homes nationwide are limiting new admissions due to staffing shortages. Here in Montana, the situation is completely unsustainable, and we are continually seeing nursing homes and other aging services providers closing their doors simply because we can’t serve our older adult population without qualified and licensed staff to provide support and care to our resident population.
Since 2015, 1,000 nursing homes nationwide have closed leaving over 45,000 residents displaced. More than 400 nursing homes are expecting to close this year nationally, with seven of them being in Montana. This is a loss of 366 nursing home beds in the state, and one of these five closures will leave Bozeman, one of the largest cities in the state, with only 69 beds to serve their older adult population. These closures will put a tremendous strain on the remaining nursing homes in Montana and in the nation, and closures from rural areas would displace residents to other parts of the state, making it very difficult for families to visit due to distance.
Unfortunately, this is not a new issue and without immediate attention and resources, this crisis will only deepen. The Biden Administration has publicly committed to ensuring the health and safety of older adults, yet there are currently no federal plans to alleviate the workforce crisis in aging services.
Many nonprofit and mission-driven aging services providers like Immanuel Living are forced to make difficult decisions about the future of our organizations, as similar organizations in communities across the country are closing their doors permanently. A recent snap poll from LeadingAge, the national nonprofit association of aging services providers, including nursing homes, home health, hospice, affordable housing, and life plan communities, paints a bleak picture. More than 60% of respondents reported their workforce difficulties are not improving, and 52 percent of the employees that have left their organization intended to leave the aging services sector altogether.
The solutions to our workforce challenges in aging services are complex. Our country — and Montana in particular — requires an all-of-government approach to pay aging services professionals a living wage; offer incentives to retain and attract qualified staff; expand training and advancement opportunities; build dependable international pipelines of trained caregivers; and enact meaningful, equitable long-term care financing. The path to achieving that must include not just regulation, but also an adequate system of funding, investments, and policy that address the workforce crisis.
It may be easy to throw our hands up and say, “Nothing can be done.” But Montana policymakers can make an immediate impact by acting now to ensure quality care and services are accessible when your family needs them. If the DPHHS can find the necessary $millions now to address the mismanaged State hospital, they can find the necessary dollars to help our Montana nursing homes who care for our most vulnerable.
We just need the political will to make it happen now.
Jason Cronk is the President and CEO of Immanuel Living, a full-service Life Plan Community in Kalispell. He serves as the Leading Age Advocate for Montana as a member of the Montana Hospital Association Board of Directors.
Thank you to all who voted for Immanuel Living’ Assisted Living at Buffalo Hill Terrace; Northwest Montana’s only Life Plan Community. Immanuel Living won first place for Best Assisted Living.
Check it out on page X52 in The Daily Interlake’s special Best of Flathead 2022 edition.
Immanuel Living was awarded a three-year grant from Lutheran Services in America to address the increasing number of underserved and isolated older adults in rural communities across Flathead County experiencing social isolation and difficulty accessing services and supports to successfully age at home.
“Immanuel Living is honored to have been selected as the recipient of this innovative grant,” says Jason Cronk, CEO and President. “It is our vision to grow an educational and community hub to connect families of older adults with services throughout rural communities across Flathead County. This model will be a ‘one-stop shop’ to provide service coordination and resources to enable underserved and isolated older adults to live at home independently.”
Lutheran Services in America also selected a number of organizations to receive funding under the grant. The service organizations comprise the national collaborative “Rural Aging Action Network” with the common goal of empowering older adults to age with independence, dignity and purpose in the community of their choice.
“This investment builds on the collective knowledge, expertise and established trust and presence of Immanuel Living in rural communities and — together, through this collaboration — creates a stronger community of care for rural aging,” said Charlotte Haberaecker, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America.
• The Montana-based accounting firm of JCCS, PC, announces that Marija Berney, CPA has been promoted to shareholder.
Berney has been with JCCS since 2010 and her primary focus is tax. She received a bachelor of science in international economics/finance from the University of Amsterdam and her CPA designation in 2013.
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https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2022/jul/24/flathead-business-newsmakers/
Join local mystery writers Leslie Budewitz, Debbie Burke, and Mark Leichlite for a panel discussion to explore their latest novels. This event celebrates the book launch of “Peppermint Barked” releasing on this date. The panel discussion will be held in the Buffalo Hill Terrace Auditorium on Tuesday, July 19th at 2:00pm.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2022
| WASHINGTON DC— Immanuel Living was awarded a three-year grant from Lutheran Services in America to address the increasing number of underserved and isolated older adults in rural communities across Flathead County experiencing social isolation and difficulty accessing services and supports to successfully age at home. “Immanuel Living is honored to have been selected as the recipient of this innovative grant,” says Jason Cronk, CEO and President. “It is our vision to grow an educational and community hub to connect families of older adults with services throughout rural communities across Flathead County. This model will be a ‘one-stop shop’ to provide service coordination and resources to enable underserved and isolated older adults to live at home independently.” Lutheran Services in America also selected the following organizations to receive funding under this grant: Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, St. John’s United in Montana, Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, and Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center in North Dakota. These trusted service organizations comprise the national collaborative “Rural Aging Action Network” with the common goal of empowering older adults to age with independence, dignity and purpose in the community of their choice. “This investment builds on the collective knowledge, expertise and established trust and presence of Immanuel Living in rural communities and — together, through this collaboration — creates a stronger community of care for rural aging,” said Charlotte Haberaecker, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America. The launch of this grant coincides with the release of the Lutheran Services in America video, “Lived Voices: Aging in Rural America,” which amplifies the personal stories of strength and resilience characteristic of older adults and caregivers aging in rural America. The video is accompanied by the report, “Lived Voices: Aging in Rural America – Cultivating a Thriving Community of Care,” which highlights the findings from a qualitative research study of older adults and caregivers in rural communities commissioned by Lutheran Services in America and conducted by ATI Advisory. The video and report capture the voices of older adults and caregivers with lived experience in the joys and challenges of aging in rural communities. About Lutheran Services in America Lutheran Services in America is a national network of 300 Lutheran health and human services organizations that reaches one in 50 people in America each year. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s top nonprofit organizations, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $23 billion in combined annual revenue. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Lutheran Services in America leads innovative collaborations with partners in philanthropy, academia, healthcare and others to address the most critical challenges in our communities and empower people to lead their best lives. To learn more, visit lutheranservices.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. |
About Immanuel Living Immanuel Living is a not-for-profit, Life Plan Community offering residential living, assisted living, memory support, rehabilitation services and skilled nursing care in Kalispell. Operating since 1957, Immanuel Lutheran services nearly 300 older adults and employs nearly 300 employees. Immanuel remains committed to its philosophy of providing a faith-based environment to enrich the lives of older adults. For more information please contact 406-752-9625 or visit our website at www.ilcorp.org/. |
The Dementia Caregiver Support Group is hosting a guest speaker on Monday, July 18, 2022 from 3pm-4:30pm in the Buffalo Hill Terrace Auditorium, 40 Claremont St., Kalispell, MT 59901 or via Zoom.
Diana Waugh, RN, BSN, CDP, will join us via Zoom and share simple, practical tools to improve communication with those who suffer from cognitive loss. Diana is a national speaker, consultant, and researcher.
For information and the Zoom link: please call 406-300-4942 or email info@ilcorp.org.
Tuesday, May 31st at 2:30 PM in the Buffalo Hill Terrace Auditorium
40 Claremont St, Kalispell, MT 59901
Join us for a presentation to learn more about how occupational, physical, and speech therapy can help in the management of Parkinson’s Disease.