BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Power outages across Metro Detroit have affected even the most vulnerable at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Local 4 talked to the husband of one woman in hospice care because of brain cancer. He’s hoping for the power to be restored sooner rather than later.
Cindy Condon, 73, has been living at Kernway Assisted Living facility in Bloomfield Hills with no power, since about Wednesday (Feb. 22) night.
“She’s in bad health, to begin with, but this is not helping, that’s for sure,” said Cindy’s husband, Vince Condon.
Vince has been advocating for DTE to do something ever since.
“DTE supposedly is prioritizing its nursing homes and assisted living facilities,” Vince said. “But my wife has been without power now for five days; This is the fifth day. There are people in their 90s living there. Everybody has a health problem who lives there.”
Vince says he’s called DTE on multiple occasions but has had no luck in seeing any results. He’s worried the longer his wife is in the dark, the harder it will be to recover.
“You have to worry about their state of mind, their depression,” Vince said. “A lot of times, people like this depend on watching TV. Well, there’s no TV to watch. So they have very little to do in the evening. They don’t sleep right, so I’m really concerned about her health.”
Concerns are high, with no definite answer on when power will be restored and more wintry weather on the way. The facility has been operating with a generator for now.
“There are extension cords in the facility, so people can trip on them,” Vince said. It’s hard for wheelchairs to maneuver around the wires. There’s no hot water.”
Lastly, Vince wants DTE to have a closer look at all the senior facilities operating without power.
“I’d like DTE to have a list of all of the care facilities that are licensed in the state of Michigan and use that as a priority,” Vince said.
Here’s some good news. Since Local 4′s phone calls to DTE, crews have been rerouted to restore power at the facility. The hope is that the electricity will be up and running by the end of the day.
