Promoting the Dignity of Assisted Living in Our Nation’s Capital

By Blair Minton, Founder of BMA Management, Ltd.
Blair Minton of BMA Mangement with US Representitive Bill Foster (D)
Having a chat with US Representative Bill Foster (D) IL. Photo by Ian Wagreich © www.iwphoto.com

For me, our effort to enhance the quality of life for older adults and their families is deeply personal.

Both my mother and my father lived in affordable assisted living communities that we manage. With the wonderful assistance of the Hospice of Kankakee Valley, Dad was able to die with dignity in his assisted living apartment.

The story, however, was much different with Mom. Her needs increased to the point where we had to move her to a nursing home. I will never forget what she had to endure. Her bath, for instance, was scheduled for one o’clock. I’m not talking about one o’clock in the afternoon. Staff would come into her room at 1 a.m. and wake her up to give her a bath. Then they would move on to the resident who was scheduled next.

Our mission at BMA is to keep people out of nursing homes for as long as we possibly can by providing them with safety, security, love, compassion and dignity. Our emphasis is on developing affordable assisted living communities than can serve older adults of all incomes, especially those who cannot afford private pay assisted living.

Rod Burkett, who is President of our management company, and I were honored to be among 120 assisted living advocates from across the country to visit Capitol Hill last week to raise awareness of assisted living.

The 2010 Federal Fly-In was the largest single advocacy event ever coordinated by the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), a national organization dedicated to professionally operated assisted living communities.

In our more than 470 meetings with United States Senators and Representatives and key committee staff members, we discussed the differences between assisted living and nursing home care. We also stressed the philosophy of assisted living, which is to emphasize independence, respect, dignity, choice and quality care.

With BMA Management being one of the leading providers of assisted living in the country and the largest provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois, we feel it is important for our elected officials in Washington to fully understand and appreciate the difference we can make in the lives of older adults and their families.

We also work hard at creating the same understanding among our elected officials at both the state and local levels.

You can follow our efforts on our website and by following me at twitterlogo twitter.com/rickbanas

We also would be more than happy to talk with you about the differences between assisted living and nursing home care, any of the senior living and assisted living communities that we manage, or our ongoing efforts to bring more affordability to senior living. Just send me an e-mail at blair.minton@bma-mgmt.com email icon


All affordable assisted living communities managed by BMA Management, Ltd. are certified and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All assisted living communities are licensed and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“BMA Management, Ltd. is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”

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Gardant Management Solutions has 20+ years of industry-acclaimed operational history in developing, managing and consulting for senior living, assisted living and memory care communities.