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The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care

January 29, 2012

Consumer Voice Holding Contest on Facebook

The Consumer Voice currently has over 900 Facebook "likes" and we would love to get to 1,000! As a little incentive, we are offering a $100 visa gift card to the 1,000th person who "likes" our page. "Liking" our page is easy to do! Just go to https://www.facebook.com/theconsumervoice and cllick the “like” button in the upper right of your browser (near our organization's name). If you've already liked our facebook page, make sure to spread the word to your friends and family members who haven't liked our page yet - maybe they'll be the winner!

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FEMA Holding Call on Innovative Responses During Hurricane Sandy

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is holding a Think Tank conference call on February 6th.  The FEMA Think Tank is a forum to engage the whole community, connect resources and share best practices, and develop solutions to the challenges we face in emergency management. The call, entitled “FEMA Think Tank: Innovative Response and Recovery Efforts during Hurricane Sandy,” will highlight some of the initiatives developed by innovation teams inside and outside of government in the areas of communications, analytics, design and technology, among other potential areas for discussion.

FEMA Think Tank: Innovative Response and Recovery Efforts during Hurricane Sandy
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
12:00pm EST

For more information, visit FEMA’s website.

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CMS Elder Maltreatment Symposium

CMS is hosting an Elder Maltreatment Symposium. The symposium is meant to solicit input on development of Measure #181: Elder Maltreatment Screen and Follow-Up Plan, as part of the Physician Quality Reporting System. Attendance is limited, so register for the event early.  You can participate on-site at the CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD or via webinar.

Elder Maltreatment Symposium
Friday, March 8, 2013
9:00am - 1:00pm EST

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Oregon LTCOP Notes Volunteer Effort

The Oregon Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman released a report showing that more than 200 volunteers performed 29,000 hours and made 13,457 visits to residents of Oregon’s nursing homes, assisted living centers and other care facilities during the year ending September 30th. Director Mary Jaeger and her staff trained the volunteers to make visits, investigate and resolve complaints and monitor how long-term care is delivered.

For more information, read the article in the Statesman Journal.

Ombudsmen Face Challenges to Autonomy

A recent article in Kaiser Health News outlined the challenges faced by long-term care ombudsmen. Ombudsmen are charged with looking out for the health, safety and rights of residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities. In 2011, state long-term care ombudsmen responded to 204,000 complaints nationwide. However, in some states, ombudsmen have struggled to maintain their autonomy through conflicts with government officials. The article covers some of the recent controversies as well as how many ombudsmen advocate for change.

Read the article on Kaiser Health News.

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Elder Abuse on the Rise

A new article on NBC News sheds light on the over 2 million seniors who are abused, exploited or neglected every year (experts say there could be more). Detection of and mechanisms for dealing with elder abuse are years behind strides made in child abuse awareness. Getting comprehensive numbers of the abuse is difficult because many cases go unreported out of embarrassment, fear of being cut off from the family or confusion about what happened.

For more information, read the article on NBC News.

Protect the Elderly from Dangerous Bed Rails

THANK YOU to those individuals and groups who have signed our petition which calls for safety standards for adult bed rails. Haven’t signed yet? Please take the time to do so today by clicking here. We have a goal of 1,000 signatures and we need your help to reach that goal!

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About The Gazette

The Gazette is a weekly e-newsletter, published by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. If you do not wish to continue receiving this publication, please unsubscribe. Your contributions and comments are welcome and should be sent to swells@theconsumervoice.org. Copyright © 2013.

The Consumer Voice is the leading national voice representing consumers in issues related to long-term care, helping to ensure that consumers are empowered to advocate for themselves. We are a primary source of information and tools for consumers, families, caregivers, advocates and ombudsmen to help ensure quality care for the individual. The Consumer Voice's mission is to represent consumers at the national level for quality long-term care, services and supports.

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National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care - 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 425 - Washington, DC 20036 - telephone: (202) 332-2275 - fax: (202) 332-2949 - info@theconsumervoice.org