Morrow checks in to Winthrop home

By Mark Fischenich
The Free Press, June 27, 2007
WINTHROP— The typical stay in a Minnesota nursing home lasts 32 days, so state Rep. Terry Morrow’s one-day as a “resident” at the Winthrop Good Samaritan Center was a relatively small sample.

State Rep. Terry Morrow, who spent a day as a “resident” at a Winthrop nursing home, awaits his turn at bowling activities. The Free Press

But considering the typical stay in a nursing home by an active member of the Legislature is zero days, Morrow figures his 24-hour experience had some real value in understanding a crucial but struggling rural Minnesota industry.

A freshman Democrat from St. Peter, Morrow was talking to staff at Good Samaritan in April when LPN Mary Healy suggested he spend a day at the facility.

“Terry jumped all over it and said ‘I’d love to stay here,’” said Administrator Lori Bussler.
On Tuesday morning, the Gustavus Adolphus College professor was admitted with a “broken left hip” and spent the next 24 hours being treated as a resident. Bussler was happy to educate a lawmaker about what she and her staff do because the Legislature decides the reimbursement rates for residents and has been less than generous with the industry in recent years.

“For five years we’ve basically had no inflationary increase,” Bussler said.
Morrow, a former chairman of the St. Peter School Board, has long talked about the state failing in its responsibility to fund K-12 education. And when he was appointed to the House Transportation Committee and learned more about the state of the state’s roads, he became a vocal advocate for more highway funding.

By Wednesday morning, nursing homes were approaching the top of his priority list.
“I know after the last 24 hours that there’s another unfunded mandate, and that’s nursing homes,” Morrow said. “… We’re underfunding. It’s clear we’re underfunding.”
Morrow said he knew the Good Samaritan Center was an important part of Winthrop’s economy — it’s the second largest employer in the city of about 1,300 residents — and that if it closed, elderly residents from the area could end up far from their homes and family.

What was reinforced was the dedication of the nurses, nursing aides and other staff, he said. And he learned how valuable it was to have longtime workers who were connected to the community.

He talked of how staff could connect with a resident with memory problems by bringing up common remembrances and experiences, of how the staff knew about the churches that the residents attended or the work they did or the social events they’d been involved in.

At one point, three staff members were in his room and he added up their tenure at Good Samaritan.

“Among the three folks, they had over 100 years of experience working here,” he said. “That number tells us a lot about the importance of nursing homes in rural Minnesota.”
But with the state’s hesitance to boost nursing home rates — the budget passed in May provides an increase of up to 2 percent for Good Samaritan the first year and no increase the second year — it means nursing aides are often making little more than fast-food workers.

“I have no doubt Lori’s staff could go somewhere else and make more money,” said Morrow, who became convinced they stayed because they love their jobs. “… It’s not the wages that are keeping them here.”

He said quality care is provided at Good Samaritan, but the staffing is thin later in the day and overnight. And the women are scrambling to keep up. One longtime resident has noticed, Morrow said.

“She said, ‘When I first came, the nurses could sit and talk a little bit. I really miss that.’”
Morrow pledged to work for better funding for nursing homes. He hopes it will be during a special legislative session this summer if Gov. Tim Pawlenty calls one to deal with vetoed tax legislation. Otherwise it will be during the 2008 session.

“The past 24 hours have confirmed for me that the state needs to sit down and determine its responsibilities and pay for them rather than shifting the costs to cities, counties, school districts and Good Samaritans,” he said.

Lois Majeski, who has worked at Good Samaritan for nearly 40 years, said she’s hoping Morrow gets the word out about the financial squeeze on nursing homes.
“This was really a blessing,” said Majeski, the activities director/spiritual care and volunteer coordinator. “Because people need to know nursing homes are really in a bind.”

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