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Celebrate Residents' Rights Month!

Residents' Rights Month is an annual event designated by the Consumer Voice and is celebrated in October to honor residents living in all long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, sub-acute units, assisted living, board and care and retirement communities.

Residents’ Rights Month is a time for celebration and recognition offering an opportunity for every facility to focus on and celebrate awareness of dignity, respect and the value of each individual resident. The theme for Residents' Rights Month 2015 is, "CARE Matters" with the goal of encouraging residents and others to be educated about quality care.

Proclaim October 2015 as National Long-Term Care Residents' Rights Month!

Please write a letter to the editor using our form below. Tell your personal story about residents' rights to illustrate why they should be celebrated. 

We've provided Talking Points.  Also, be sure to tell your own story! 

Thanks for your support!

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • Residents’ Rights Month, an annual event held every October, is a time for celebration and recognition offering an opportunity for every long-term care facility to focus on and celebrate awareness of dignity, respect and the value of each individual resident. The theme for Residents' Rights Month 2015 is, "CARE Matters" with the goal of encouraging residents and others to be educated about quality care.

  • Residents' Rights Month 2015 reminds us that quality care is critically important for long-term care residents. During this month-long celebration, it is important to raise awareness and encourage residents, family members and members of the community to learn why CARE Matters.

  • It has been 28 years since the landmark Nursing Home Reform Law was enacted as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987. The Nursing Home Reform Law was the first comprehensive federal effort to promote and protect the rights of residents. Its passage guaranteed residents their individual rights in order to promote and maintain their dignity and autonomy in long-term care facilities.

  • Residents' Rights Month is a great opportunity to bring much-needed attention to ongoing issues threatening residents’ quality of life and care. It challenges us to talk with each other about what CARE means, and in doing so we learn that there are common denominators to CARE – a kind spirit, adequate numbers of well trained staff who can respond to needs, a safe living environment and interactions that are filled with respect.

  • While we express our caring in different ways, our commitment will result in a better and more caring long-term care system. Some of us provide daily care for residents, along with a caring spirit that results in respectful and enjoyable relationships. Some of us show care in our visits to our loved ones and our heartfelt commitment to working with them to obtain the best care possible. Others express their caring in advocacy on the local, state and national level – working hard so that the most vulnerable in our society are treated as unique individuals with dignity, courtesy and honor.

  • Now is the time to come together in honoring this historic law. Resident Rights’ Month is a perfect opportunity for citizens everywhere to raise awareness in each state for residents’ rights!

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