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This issue of The Gazette was made possible by a generous contribution from Maria Greene and Jim Kautz in memory of Juanita Parkes Kautz and James Richard Kautz, Jr., lifelong givers to others.

October 7, 2014

Consumer Voice Applauds Congress and President for Funding Much Needed Improvements in Nursing Home Staffing Information

Yesterday President Obama signed into law the "Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014 - post acute care reform legislation - which included $11 million to fund the development of a system for collection of nursing home staffing levels through verifiable payroll data. The Consumer Voice, along with the Coalition of Geriatric Nursing Organizations and Altarum Institute's Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness, have been strongly advocating for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement this new system that is more than two years overdue.  CMS expects that pilot testing of this system will occur in fiscal year (FY) 2015, with nationwide reporting by all nursing homes by the end of FY 2016. The Consumer Voice and other advocacy groups applaud Congressional leaders and the President for the inclusion of this vital funding within the law.  Read the Consumer Voice press release here. The New York Times also ran a piece yesterday detailing the IMPACT's Act funding of the payroll data system, which can be read here.


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Administration Announces New Executive Actions Related to Nursing Homes and Home Health Agencies

In addition to signing the IMPACT Act (see above), the Administration took additional steps  through executive action in an effort to improve care for nursing home residents and home health patients.  Plans include improving the reliability and utility of data on Nursing Home Compare through focused survey inspections, payroll-based staffing reporting, revised scoring methodology, more timely and complete inspection data and the addition of more quality measures.  In conjunction with changes to the federal government’s nursing home website, CMS issued a proposed rule for home health agencies that, according to a White House fact sheet, “strengthens patient rights, improves communication, and focuses on patient well-being."

Consumer Voice Director of Public Policy & Advocacy Robyn Grant said, "We are pleased to see that the White House believes more needs to be done to improve care for consumers receiving services in nursing homes and from home health agencies and that it is taking action to address concerns about the accuracy of the information on Nursing Home Compare and used in the Five Star Rating System. We  look forward to learning more about these executive actions." For more information, read the White House Fact Sheet.

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12 Reasons to Attend the 38th Annual Consumer Voice Conference

This is the latest entry in our 12 week series.

#8: Listen and learn from experts during three plenary sessions

Each day of the conference begins with a plenary session from key experts.  This year's plenaries:

Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care - Presenters: Jeff Kelly Lowenstein; Sarah Green Burger; Diane Carter

New Standards in HCBS Settings: What Do They Mean? - Presenters: Eric Carlson; Elizabeth Priaulx

Developing Strategies and Partnerships in the Search for Person-Centered Care - Presenters: Barbara Frank & Cathie Brady, B&F Consulting

Click here for more reasons to attend the Consumer Voice Conference.

Once you have registered for the conference, don't forget to make your hotel reservation in the Consumer Voice Annual Conference room block! The special room rate (as low as $149/night) is only available until Thursday, October 16 or until the group block is sold out, so book now!

For more information about the Annual Conference, click here.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC!

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There's still time...

...to become a sponsor of the 2014 Consumer Voice Annual Conference!

Last year, Consumer Voice renewed our tradition of holding an annual conference to gather LTC stake-holders to meet, educate and develop priorities for our organization and field. The CV conference also provides an opportunity for loyal and passionate advocates to exchange ideas, to support one another and to energize each other with laughter, hugs and even tears.  The conference was a success and now we are seeking to build on that experience and to bring its benefits to new and more advocates.

Donate to the conference and view the benefits chart.

Many advocates are not able to afford to attend the Consumer Voice Annual Conference to experience the best speakers in the field, opportunities to network with colleagues and time to interact directly with long-term care consumers.  This year, we have created a special giving opportunity for Scholarships.  If you are able, please provide a scholarship by making a donation of $295 x the number of scholarships you would like to give.  Contributors to the Consumer Voice Annual Conference receive many benefits.  For more information about contributing to the conference, click here.

View a list of our current sponsors.

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Alliance for Justice Releases Documentary on Negative Impacts of Arbitration

The Alliance for Justice has recently released its new documentary, Lost in the Fine Print, which exposes the harmful practice of pre-dispute, forced arbitration and how it negatively impacts consumers' rights. The documentary, which is available in full at www.lostinthefineprint.org, briefly touches on the use of pre-dispute, forced arbitration clauses in nursing home admission agreements and also focuses on a host of other consumer contracts where the use of such clauses are commonplace. Consumer Voice has long advocated for the elimination of these agreements in long-term care admission agreements. Such agreements force consumers and their family members to resolve any disputes that might arise regarding abuse, neglect or poor care within a facility through an arbitration process as opposed to a court of law, stripping these individuals of their constitutional right to a trial by jury. To read more about our position and advocacy on this issue, click here.

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Maryland Certifies Its Ombudsmen!

The Maryland Ombudsman Program has accomplished a long time goal in the certification of its ombudsmen.  Alice H. Hedt, State Ombudsman, reports that 96 volunteers and 40 staff ombudsmen were certified in May and August of 2014.  Each person had to complete specific requirements including special training sessions, an exam, the completion of standardized forms, and a review of the curriculum.   Staff ombudsmen were required to complete the five NORC modules including the quizzes as well as a comprehensive exam. The volunteers who completed the modules and quizzes received an "enhanced" certification.

"It took us one full year to offer the certification training across the state and make sure that each person completed all of the requirements," explained Hedt.  "Rather than simply grandfather experienced ombudsmen, we chose to ensure that each person had received training in the core requirements of the program.  There were days grading the exams that I thought we were crazy to have these requirements, but in retrospect our program is now more consistent across the state.  I am so thankful for the time invested in this process, especially by our dedicated volunteers."

Another 27 volunteers are in the pipeline to be certified.   Hedt used state Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) funding for the certification that included the development and printing of a standardized notebook of information for each ombudsman and a "Quality Advocacy Visit Fact Sheet" based one developed by the Ohio Program.

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Materials Available from LGBT Aging Webinar

Materials are now available from the October 1st webinar "Introduction to LGBT Aging: What You Need to Know About Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults." Tim Johnston, PhD, Manager of Education and Training for SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders), provided an introduction to LGBT aging discussing the culture, needs and concerns of LGBT older adults, why LGBT older adults are less likely to access health and social services and sharing best practices and tools for helping LGBT older adults to feel more included.  Visit the NORC website for materials.

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Advocates in Connecticut Meet with Senator About Misuse of Antipsychotics

A group of elder care representatives including Consumer Voice Leadership Council Chair Brian Capshaw and Connecticut State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Nancy Shaffer met with US Senator Richard Blumenthal last week.  The meeting discussed a recent news report in Connecticut showing that nursing home residents are still more likely to be given antipsychotics than their counterparts in 33 other states. Senator Blumenthal said that he is pleased that the state has cut its rate of antipsychotic use in nursing homes, but he wants to see more progress.  For more information, read the article in Connecticut Health I-Team.

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Person-Centered Care Video from the Dementia Action Alliance

The Dementia Action Alliance has produced a video entitled "Person-Centered Matters."  The 16-minute video filmed by a former National Geographic filmmaker portrays five people living with dementia and how person-centered care helps them live more fully.  Watch the video here.

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ACL Names National Council on Aging Center for Healthy Aging as its National Falls Prevention Resource Center

The Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (AoA) has named the National Council on Aging Center for Healthy Aging as its National Falls Prevention Resource Center.  The purpose of this grant-funded effort is to work collaboratively with AoA to increase public education about the risks of falls and how to prevent them and to support the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based community programs and strategies that have been proven to reduce the incidence of falls among seniors.  Also, ten state/local entities and four tribal organizations have been awarded two-year grants to work in collaboration with the Resource Center to implement or expand evidence-based falls prevention programs.  For more information about the grants, click here.

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Resident Penny Shaw Embarks on Writing Campaign to Educate LTC Professionals on Nursing Home Life from a Resident's Perspective

Former Consumer Voice Leadership Council Member, current MANHR Board Member and nursing home resident Penny Shaw has recently embarked on a writing campaign to help educate long-term care professionals on nursing home life and issues from a resident's perspective.  She will be publishing regular articles in Caring for the Ages, the official newspaper for AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, and she will continue to write pieces for various other professional journals.  Her most recent articles include:

A Resident’s Perspective: Rescued from Institutionalization
September 2014, Caring for the Ages, official newspaper for AMDA, The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, Page 17
 
Letter to the Editors: A View From and On the Window (co-author)
July 2014, HERD, Health Environments Research & Design Journal
 
Lead Editorial: Nursing Assistants and Quality Nursing Home Care
July 2014, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association,
Editorial Response in total agreement with Lead Editorial: Certified Nursing Assistants: A Key to Resident Quality of Life, John E. Morley MB, BCh

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NYC Revamps Emergency Preparedness

As part of a settlement filed in federal court last week, New York City has agreed to improve its emergency preparedness plan by adding 60 new accessible shelters and more dedicated personnel.

The settlement comes almost a year after two non-profit organizations, the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York and the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, won a lawsuit against the city for failing to account for the needs of people with disabilities in its emergency plans, which a judge ruled violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

As part of the settlement, the city will hire a top level coordinator to ensure ompliance with city and state laws for emergency plans for people with disability and access needs. Plus, the city will create an advisory panel to receive feedback from the disability community about its emergency plans.  For more information, read the article in WNYC.

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CFPB Guides Now Available in Spanish

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released Spanish versions of two important guides.  Money Smart for Older Adults is an educational program that teaches older adults and their caregivers how to spot scams and frauds. Managing Someone Else’s Money is a set of four guides for financial caregivers to help them understand their duties, and how to prevent financial exploitation. Download or order a copy of these resources here.

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Dr. Bill Thomas Upcoming Presentations in Reno and Las Vegas

Dr. Bill Thomas, founder of the Eden Alternative and Green House Project, will be presenting "The Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper and More Connected Life" during events in Reno, NV on Tuesday, November 4th and Las Vegas on Wednesday, November 5th.  Register by Tuesday, October 28th.  For more information and to register, click here.

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In this Issue

Consumer Voice Applauds Congress and President for Funding Much Needed Improvements in Nursing Home Staffing Information

Administration Announces New Executive Actions Related to Nursing Homes and Home Health Agencies

12 Reasons to Attend the 38th Annual Consumer Voice Conference

There's still time...

Alliance for Justice Releases Documentary on Negative Impacts of Arbitration

Maryland Certifies Its Ombudsmen!

Materials Available from LGBT Aging Webinar

Advocates in Connecticut Meet with Senator about Misuse of Antipsychotics

Person-Centered Care Video from Dementia Action Alliance

ACL Names National Council on Aging Center for Healthy Aging as its National Falls Prevention Resource Center

Resident Penny Shaw Embarks on Writing Campaign to Educate LTC Professionals about Nursing Home Life from the Resident's Perspective

NYC Revamps Emergency Preparedness

CFPB Guides Now Available in Spanish

Dr. Bill Thomas Upcoming Presentations in Reno and Las Vegas


Please note that next week's Gazette will be sent on Wednesday, October 15th.


It's Residents' Rights Month!

In October, advocates across the country are celebrating Residents' Rights Month 2014.

  • Visit our website to find residents' rights resources and activities and to find updates on how advocates and consumers across the country are celebrating.
  • Purchase Residents' Rights Month products including this year's fantastic calendar!
  • Read what residents' rights mean to residents nationwide in our Resident's Voice Challenge.
  • Let us know how you are celebrating by emailing event details, photos and news stories to info@theconsumervoice.org


In the news...

Media Highlight: A recent Des Moines Register editorial focuses on lapses in Iowa oversight of long-term care and poor treatment of facility residents, calls for federal and state action.

Read more here.


4.1 It CAN Be Done!

As part of our nursing home staffing campaign, Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care, Consumer Voice is advocating for a minimum of 4.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day.  To show your support of this campaign, individuals can send us a photo with the slogan "4.1 - It CAN Be Done" by tweeting us pictures @ConsumerVoices, posting on our Facebook or emailing your photos to info@theconsumervoice.org.  Get the word out and encourage consumers to participate by sending in their photos too! 

You can join the Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care campaign, learn more about the campaign's goals, access the campaign advocacy toolkit, and take action at: www.theconsumervoice.org/betterstaffing

Featured supporter:


Social Services Coordinator John Paul Tuanqui Abenojar


Calendar of Events

October: 2014 Residents' Rights Month, Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care

Monday, October 20: Discussing POLST with Persons with Early Alzheimer's Disease, 3:00pm EST, Webinar in yearly series from the National POLST Paradigm

November 15-18, 2014: Consumer Voice Annual Conference at the Hilton Crystal City in Arlington, VA Register now.


Your Consumer Voice Membership Shows Your Support for Quality Long-Term Care

The Consumer Voice envisions a world in which all consumers of long-term care, services and supports are treated with respect and dignity.  As we work to achieve this goal, we need friends and advocates like you to join us in our fight to achieve quality services for all long-term care consumers.  There is strength in numbers, and when there are many of us and our voice is strong, only then do we achieve our mission of empowering consumers and bringing about quality of life and quality care for all people receiving long-term care, services and supports.  That is why we need your help - become a member of the Consumer Voice!

Join now and receive a SPECIAL OFFER - your membership will not expire until December 2015 - That's 3 months FREE!

Go to www.theconsumervoice.org/join to become a member.
Questions about membership? Contact info@theconsumervoice.org


Making Charitable Contributions At Work?

If you are making charitable contributions through payroll deduction, please ask how you can "designate" your contribution to Consumer Voice.

If you are giving to the Combined Federal Campaign, the charity number for Consumer Voice is #10552.

Even if Consumer Voice is not listed as part of a workplace campaign, there is often an option to make a contribution to the charity of your choice.  All you have to do is ask how you can make a contribution to Consumer Voice.

Sometimes, you will have to use "NCCNHR" instead of Consumer Voice as your designated charity since that is how our organization is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.  In either case, the contribution should reach our organization.

Thank you for considering making a payroll contribution in support of our efforts of achieving quality long-term care.  If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us at info@theconsumervoice.org or by phone at 202-332-2275.


Join the conversation and follow us on social media!

Last Week's Most Popular Post:

Friday, October 3:
Residents' Rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law.  The law requires nursing homes to "promote and protect the rights of each resident" and places a strong emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination.  Learn more.

Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:

Thursday, October 2:
Increasing staff-to-patient ratios improve nurse safety, researchers find.


Long-Term Care Resources & News


Read past issues of The Gazette here.


Sponsor the Gazette - Consumer Voice is now accepting sponsorship for each weekly issue of The Gazette.  As a benefit of sponsorship, the contributor may honor, remember, or thank an individual or organization.  For more information, contact Richard Gelula at rgelula@theconsumervoice.org

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 below. Your contributions and comments are welcome and should be sent to info@theconsumervoice.org. Copyright © 2014.

If you did not receive The Gazette through a subscription, but would like to join our mailing list to receive future issues, click here.

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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