There are Thirty-five (35) Medical Care Facilities (MCFs) in Michigan that serve citizens in all of Michigan's 83 counties, regardless of ability to pay for care. Medical Care Facilities are county-owned facilities that serve the indigent on a first-come first-served basis, as mandated by law, and are therefore the safety net for vulnerable citizens who have no means to pay for their nursing home care. Additionally, MCFs provide placement for hard to place high-needs citizens, who may be rejected by other nursing homes.

• The Thirty-five (35) Medical Care Facilities in Michigan have 4751 beds at the present time. That number changes over time as new facilities are constructed or new wings or specialized programs are added.
  
  
• In MCFs 79% of residents are on Medicaid, compared with a statewide average of 69% Medicaid eligibility for all nursing homes residents.
  
  
• MCFs average 96% occupancy. The average statewide occupancy rate for all nursing homes is 88%.
  
  
• The average total number of nursing staff time dedicated to each resident in a Medical Care Facility is 4.0 hours per day, while in other nursing homes residents only receive 3.7 hours of care each day, resulting in almost 20 additional minutes of one-on-one staff attention per resident, per day for residents in MCFs. This results in 110 hours more of nursing care per year to residents of Medical Care Facilities, as opposed to residents in other types of nursing homes. Cumulatively this totals 520,000 more hours of care per year for the 4751 residents in Medical Care Facilities than would be received in other nursing homes with the same population.
  
  
• From 1998 through 2002, Governor Engler gave Governor’s Awards to organizations that provided extraordinary service. Less than 35 out of the 425 nursing homes in the state received this award, however 14 of them were Medical Care Facilities, which means that almost 40% of MCFs received this award. One facility, Maple Lawn received it twice.
  
  
• MCFs typically pay a higher wage to their staff and have much better benefits than other nursing homes. MCFs consequently have lower staff turn-over than other nursing homes.
  
  
• MCFs offer a wide variety of services including:
  Child care, adult day care, computer classes for residents, access to a computer for e-mailing family and friends, end of life programs, unique meal services, tuition programs for employees, independent and assisted living, overnight respite, rehabilitative therapy, holiday open houses.
  
  
• A total of 21 MCF's (60%) have employees that are Certified Eden Associates. Of those 21 MCF's, 11 are on the Eden Registry, for a total of 31percent MCF's represent the highest percentage of any group of long term care facilities that have sent employees to training and the highest percentage of Eden Registered Homes of any type of provider.
  
  The Eden Alternative is an innovative philosophy of long term care that seeks to eliminate loneliness, helplessness, and boredom by creating a vibrant living and working environment for its elders and staff. This environment offers the opportunity to give meaningful care to other living creatures, and the variety and spontaneity that is inherent in an Eden Alternative setting.
  
  
• Three MCFs are the sole nursing homes in their counties, nine others are one of only two nursing homes in their counties, and eight MCFs are one of only three nursing homes in their counties. MCFs tend to be located in lesser-populated areas of the state, serving the 25% of seniors aged 65 and above who live in rural Michigan.