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In 2023 over 72% of assisted living facilities in Wisconsin received zero complaints

There’s no question that Wisconsin’s aging population will present challenges in the healthcare industry in the coming years, including the state’s assisted living industry, which is experiencing a steady increase in seniors utilizing services at more than 4,000 facilities throughout the state.

According to the Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, “The state’s population aged 65 and older is expected to grow by 640,000, or 72%, between 2015 and 2040, which is six times higher than the projected overall Wisconsin population growth of 12%.”

Many of those seniors can expect to find quality care in assisted living facilities throughout Wisconsin, which are already serving well over 40,000 individuals with very diverse needs, ranging from relatively independent seniors to those experiencing advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, developmental and physical disabilities. It’s an important industry and one that is highly regulated.

Journal Sentinel series focused on small percentage of facilities

Providing care to such a vulnerable population warrants government oversight and understandably draws attention from the media and public at-large. A recent series of stories published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel focused on challenges facing a small percentage of assisted living facilities in Wisconsin, highlighting some unfortunate and tragic circumstances involving residents.

To be sure, our industry is committed to providing safe and quality care to its residents, and while those situations highlighted in the Journal Sentinel’s coverage should not be downplayed, they are also in the minority. In 2023 over 72% of facilities received zero complaints. And, of the complaints received, over half were unsubstantiated.

Exceptional investigation on assisted living care forces uncomfortable conversations

Anyone interested in learning more about Wisconsin’s assisted living industry can access  the most recent report from the Department of Health Services Division of Quality Assurance titled the “State of Assisted Living,” it reviews the 4,005 assisted living providers in Wisconsin. Our state has a two-pronged regulatory approach that incorporates unannounced survey visits and investigating complaints.       

In short, the vast majority of Wisconsin’s assisted living providers are doing a tremendous job of providing quality care and services.

It is also important to clarify that assisted living facilities are meant to be an individual’s home that can help provide activities of daily living.  Admission into an assisted living facility requires an assessment that involves input from the resident (or legally authorized individual), and the resident’s physician. The state holds providers accountable to that assessment. 

The state can grant waivers to allow for additional hours of nursing/specialized care, but approval is on a case-by-case basis. The assessment dictates what and how care services will be provided and staffed. As in other healthcare facilities, failure to follow through would lead to regulatory action from DQA.

Medicaid funding is top challenge for assisted living facilities

The top challenges facing assisted living today are competing in the labor market for quality caregivers and a woefully underfunded state Medicaid long-term care program, i.e., Family Care.  Further, the need for assisted living will grow as Wisconsin’s population continues to age.           

An increasing number of seniors are having to rely on Family Care to obtain their long-term care services. Family Care pays much less than the actual cost of providing care – a situation that puts providers at a further disadvantage of being able to offer competitive wages and benefits compared with the service and light industry sectors. For example, the Family Care program has assumed caregiver wages are $13.02 per hour wherein reality, caregiver wages average $17 per hour. 

The Family Care program was not designed to quickly react to economic market fluctuations compared with other industries that can simply raise prices to offset higher costs. Therefore, it is impossible for assisted living providers to compete with other industries and companies such as warehousing, restaurants, retail, gas/convenience stores, etc. when hiring workers.

Finding hope while friends faced loss. We feared for dad’s life after selling our dairy herd.

The state needs to continue instituting much needed changes to its Medicaid Family Care program to recognize actual costs, such as caregiver wages and inflation on goodsservices. On Aug. 1, Gov. Tony Evers directed DHS to invest $258 million into the Family Care program. The funding will raise caregiver wage assumptions from $13.02 to $15.75 per hour. This investment is desperately needed and will be a lifeline to assisted living providers who are struggling to make ends meet – and in particular, avoid assisted living facilities from shutting down or exiting the Family Care program.

Overall, assisted living facilities are committed to providing outstanding quality and compassionate care required to meet the ever-changing needs of Wisconsin’s frail elderly and disabled citizens. While the state’s recent investment in Family Care is greatly needed and appreciated, more work will need to be done to support the growing care and living needs of Wisconsin’s aging population.    

Michael S. Pochowski is president and CEO of the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association.

Detroit family seeking answers in woman’s murder 10 years later

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(CBS DETROIT) – Tiané Brown was the mother of three and a full-time law student at Wayne State University. Her mother says she had dreams of being a patent lawyer, but that all changed on Oct. 28, 2013.

That was the night Brown went missing after she took a test at Wayne State. Two days later, she was found dead inside of her vehicle with a single gunshot wound to her head.

“It was like a nightmare that you don’t wake up from,” said her mother, Sheryl Jones.

Jones has fought diligently to keep her daughter’s memory alive. She keeps photos of her daughter around her West Bloomfield home and keeps up with the Detroit Police Department’s investigation.

But lately, Jones says it’s been difficult for her to get through when she tries to call the detective. She shared a video that she took of her trying to contact him earlier this month, showing the detective’s mailbox being full. Now, she feels as if her daughter’s cold case is getting the cold shoulder.

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“It’s hard because that was my child; she was my only daughter, and it will always hurt,” Jones told CBS News Detroit. “And all I want to do is seek justice for her because she was a human being. She was important to me.”

DPD Capt. Donna Mccord with the homicide unit says a new plan was created this year for cases older than 10 years. The plan aims to update victims’ families on the status of the case every six months.

“We’re not going to call them every week unless there is new information,” said Mccord. “We don’t want to pull that bandaid off every week to say sorry we don’t know and don’t have any new information.”

But Jones told CBS News Detroit that the wounds have never healed, and being ignored makes her feel even worse.

“I feel like in my heart it hurts. It’s terrible,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like they aren’t as interested as I think they should be.”

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Walter Murphy

Walter Murphy is an Emmy-nominated journalist known for his relentless dedication as a watchdog for the public.

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Chrystul Kizer, a young woman from Milwaukee, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and five years of extended supervision for the killing of a man named Randall Volar.
Kizer, now 24, admitted to the shooting in 2018 when she was 17 years old. She had accused Volar of trafficking and raping her.

The crime and its aftermath

In June 2018, Kizer went to Volar’s house in Kenosha with a gun, BBC reported.She shot him twice in the head, then set his house on fire and took Volar’s BMW. After the killing, she posted a selfie from Volar’s house on social media with the caption “My Mug Shot.” Prosecutors said that Kizer planned the actions to steal the car, while Kizer’s defence argued that she acted in self-defence due to years of abuse.

Legal and public reaction

Kizer’s case drew significant media attention and sparked debate over how the law treats victims of sex trafficking. She had met Volar when she was 16 and claimed he sexually assaulted her, gave her money and gifts, and trafficked her to other men.
Evidence later revealed that Volar had abused multiple underage girls. Despite this, he was released by police before his death.
In court, Kizer’s lawyers argued that she should be protected under a 2008 Wisconsin law that shields trafficking victims from certain charges if their crimes were directly related to their trafficking. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that this protection could extend to homicide cases, allowing Kizer to present evidence of her abuse.

Outcome and future

Kizer accepted a plea deal this year to avoid a life sentence. She will serve 11 years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision. Her case continues to be a point of discussion regarding the legal treatment of trafficking victims and the extent of legal protections available to them.
Kizer, who has already served over a year and a half, is scheduled for a restitution hearing on November 8.