 |  | ||||
|
Friday, March 23, 2001 Nursing home director dribbling way to state CapitolBy DONNA CALLEA | News-Journal Staff Writer PORT ORANGE — There may be no direct connection between passing bills and dribbling balls. But Jon Marc Creighton, director of the Mariner Health Care nursing home, is betting he can give his industry a boost in the state legislature by bouncing a basketball all the way from Port Orange to Tallahassee. "It's got to have an impact," he said early Thursday morning before beginning a six-day 240-mile trek from his facility to the state capital. He was accompanied by fellow ball bouncer Brian Ferguson, who is administrator of a nursing home in St. Augustine, an entourage of relief dribblers, and a motor home emblazoned with the words: "Don't Drop the Ball! Support real litigation reform for long term care." "Seniors deserve as much attention as manatees and sea turtles," contended Creighton, who is a district president of the Florida Health Care Association, which represents about 700 long term care facilities statewide. The association is lobbying for changes in legislation that members say are needed to prevent nursing homes and assisted living centers from going under and enable them to improve the quality of care provided. Primary among the issues being hotly contested in the Legislature is a limitation on lawsuits and litigation by nursing home residents and their families. According to information Creighton distributed, nearly every facility in the state is being sued, and the typical nursing home has seven lawsuits either pending or resolved. Such suits, the association contends, drain the resources facilities need to improve. On the other side of the issue are trial lawyer organizations and the AARP, which claim that most such lawsuits are legitimate. The nursing home industry also is asking the Legislature to increase state funding for staffing facilities, increase required staff training, hold facilities to the same standards as hospitals, and approve risk management and quality improvement programs. But the atmosphere at Mariner, as the dribblers were sent on their way, was more of a party than a political rally. As the strains of "Sweet Georgia Brown" played in the background, elderly residents in wheelchairs were lined up in the chill morning air to show their support, as they passed a basketball to Creighton. George Woods, 93, who is president of the residents' association at Mariner, appeared to be in fine form as he joined in the relay from his wheelchair. But he said he wasn't really sure about the ins and outs of the issues at stake. The same was true of Port Orange Mayor Dorothy Hukill, who also was on hand to cheer on Creighton and his group. "I think it's absolutely wonderful," she said, although she added that she looks upon the effort "more in the general sense" of improving services for seniors. |
Copyright © 2008 NIE WORLD (www.nieworld.com). All content copyrighted and may not be republished without permission. The News-Journal has no control over and is not responsible for content on other Web sites. Privacy Policy. |