A group of residents at Our Lady of Mercy Country Home who are calling for changes to the visitation policy, which restricts employees from visiting residents off duty.

Image by Georg Arthur Pflueger
A group of residents at a Northland senior living facility want changes to a new visitation policy at their home.
The policy restricts employees at Our Lady of Mercy Country Home if they want to visit residents while not on duty.
It says employees need administrator approval to return to visit residents off the clock. They must also visit in the private dining room and may only do so once per month. The policy also restricts any employee on a disciplinary plan from visitation rights.
In a statement, facility leadership said the policy protects residents from exploitation and helps employees maintain professional boundaries. The statement did not expand on any specific incident or employee in question.
A resident who organized a petition against the new policy says it is too broad and restrictive.
“I know for many of our residents, the employees are their family. For many, their only family,” said Jane Henry, who’s lived at Our Lady of Mercy Country home for over 18 months.
Henry organized a petition signed by 31 residents respectfully asking management to address the policy.
The home’s administrator organized a meeting in January, where Henry read from a letter asking the policy to be stricken.
She says, since then, the home’s administration has not backed away from the policy.
Henry said she does not want to bring harm to anyone in the home. She decided to speak to KMBC 9 Investigates after not seeing changes.
“I fear retaliation. I fear eviction,” she said. “But I’m not going to let that fear hold me back. I’m fighting for my rights and the rights of all my lovely resident friends that are here.”
The facility’s leadership, in a statement, said the home’s “singular purpose is to protect the well-being of all of our residents.”
“We do allow current and former employees to visit residents, provided that they follow minimum guidelines and do not place our residents at risk,” the statement said.
The facility’s leadership, in the statement, said it is their continuing mission to provide care with dignity.
Henry questioned that statement while hoping the leadership of the home would change its policy quickly.
“It’s been embarrassing and humiliating to have to deal with this,” Henry said. “I can take this, because for the good of the cause, I’ll fight. I’ll fight and fight.”
Henry said that even with her efforts, she and the residents may not win.
“But we’re going to give it our best shot,” she said.
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