Mission Point to no longer handle operations of Bayside Village in L’Anse

L’ANSE, Mich. (WLUC) - Located in the village of L’Anse, the Bayside Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will no longer be managed by Mission Point.

The center is the home of 47 residents and is a fully owned subsidiary of the Baraga County Memorial Hospital (BCMH).

The hospital holds a management contract with Mission Point, which handles operations at the nursing center.

That contract, however, will not be renewed after April.

“Baraga County has been in a relationship for approximately two years, and we have recently decided and determined that, through the contract, we’ll no longer be partnering with Mission Point,” said BCMH CEO Rob Stowe. “We’ll be ending that relationship on April 30.”

This comes after reports of abuse and neglect of residents at facilities in Hancock and Ishpeming.

According to Stowe, the hospital had been looking to enter a new partnership for the last six months, citing multiple performance issues.

He says a month ago, however, Mission Point notified the hospital that they would be moving out of the arrangement.

“I think it was Mission Point’s decision based on a lot of the things that they have going on currently, to focus on their own facilities,” continued Stowe. “And I certainly support that decision.”

We emailed Mission Point, asking about its reason for severing the partnership. Mission Point provided the following statement in response:

“We are truly grateful for the outstanding support we received from our team members, residents, families, community, and the hospital,” said Mission Point Chief Operating Officer Paul Pruitt. “Our relationship with BCMH has been positive and we wish them well as they make the transition to operating of the facility day-to-day. This transition does not affect any of our other operations or facilities in Northern Michigan.”

Mission Point has not provided a reason for deciding to vacate the partnership.

Stowe notes that while Mission Point is leaving, the staff are not.

“Our intent is to retain all of the staff,” added Stowe. “I do not anticipate any of the staff will be impacted, other than a few of them will have a different employer. Those that worked directly from Mission Point will now work for either our new management partner or, if we determine to go independent, they’ll work directly for Bayside Village.”

Stowe says the decision between a new partner and operating the center independently should be decided within the next two weeks.

He adds that many support the hospital managing bayside independently and that both BCMH and Bayside boards will take that into consideration.

Stowe also noted that, to his knowledge, there were no investigations into Bayside outside of regular surveys and no overwhelming complaints.

The board will meet next week on Mar. 9 to consider its options.

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