Who will care for your elderly loved ones if there is no nursing home in your community?

How far away will you find a home with an open bed, the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, another state?

How much time off from work will you take to go visit a loved one and attend care consultation meetings? (Hey employers, this affects you too)

Will you have to pay for a hotel room because the drive to see your loved one is too far for a day trip?

Where will people needing short-term rehab go to recover after major surgery if there were no local nursing home?

When a loved one is struggling to adjust to life in a nursing home, would you rather drive 10 minutes to hold their hand while you console and encourage them, or be forced to hear them crying over the phone, feeling heartbroken and helpless that you can’t be with them when they need you most?

Some of you reading this have already had to live with the answers to these hard questions. But for decades, countless people in the New Ulm area have been able to count on the care of the wonderful and dedicated employees of Oak Hills Living Center, right here in the comfort and convenience of our own community.

In the 12/13/22 edition of The Journal, an editorial entitled “Senior care should be a state funding priority,” did an excellent job explaining how skilled nursing care facilities are shackled to the State of Minnesota’s inadequate funding formula, a formula that eventually causes nursing homes to run out of money. Only this is not a crisis that’s coming, the crisis is here, right now! In the past two years, nursing homes in Redwood Falls, Fairfax and Winthrop have had to close their doors and send residents away. For some seniors, those nursing homes were the only ‘family’ they had. Many families don’t have the ability or resources required to care for their loved ones at home.

The 12/15/22 edition of The Journal reported on a town hall meeting in New Ulm with our elected state officials, Senator Gary Dahms and State Representative Paul Torkelson. While the article listed various priorities that were discussed, along with ideas for spending our state’s enormous budget surplus, there was NO mention of the crisis our nursing homes are experiencing.

Knowing and understanding a problem is important, but knowing what you can do about it is what gives us some power over our situation. I urge everyone to join me in calling or writing to let our legislators know that in this time of unbelievable surplus, there is zero excuse for turning their backs on our elderly friends, neighbors and family members in nursing homes. Tell them to change the funding formula to consider costs more recent than two years ago in determining how much nursing homes receive. Tell our legislators that it is wrong for metro nursing homes to have already received their state funds this year, while rural nursing homes have to wait until next year to get this year’s funding.

How can any organization be funded this way without going bankrupt?

Let’s not forget the talented and compassionate people who care for our elderly in nursing homes. They give so much of themselves and they are also being short-changed by the state’s lack of sufficient funding. Getting the state to change their rules is the vital long-term fix. However, other needs at Oak Hills are more immediate. With a list of updates, replacements and repairs to make, Oak Hills desperately needs donations. Please considering giving to the current bath tub replacement campaign, or making whatever kind of monetary donation you can. Oak Hills needs you now more than ever!

Getting old is not a choice, which means most of us will need a nursing home someday. Will the nursing home in your community be there when you need it?

Do not let our state government turn a blind eye to the needs of some of our community’s most vulnerable members. Please make your voices heard!

Do it today!

Thank you!

— Mike Furth is board chair of Oak Hills Memorial Foundation