May 26, 2015

Consumer Voice Gem: Long-Term Care Consumers

As Consumer Voice celebrates our 40th anniversary we want to take this opportunity to reflect on our past and recognize the individuals who shaped our organization. In honor of the 40-year ruby anniversary we will highlight Consumer Voice’s Gems which include key leaders, organizations, and special moments that have made a significant impact on our organization’s development, mission, and advocacy.

For this month's gem, we celebrate long-term care consumers.


Curmet Forte, former member of the Consumer Voice Board of Directors, President of the DC coalition of nursing home resident councils, and a founding board member of WINH (Washingtonians for Improvement of Nursing Homes), leading a demonstration with fellow DC Village residents.

Advocating with, and for, long-term care consumers to ensure all consumers are treated with respect and dignity, have a high quality of life, and receive quality care regardless of where they receive long-term care services is the mission of Consumer Voice. As the leading national advocacy organization representing consumers in issues related to long-term care, the voice of consumers and their involvement is vital to our work.
 
For the last 40 years, residents living in nursing homes and assisted living as well as other long-term care consumers have been instrumental in supporting, promoting, and advancing Consumer Voice advocacy, both at the federal and state levels. Examples of consumer participation in Consumer Voice advocacy include: A Consumer Perspective on Quality Care: The Residents’ Point of View (NCCNHR/CV) 1985, providing a foundation for advocacy for provisions in the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (OBRA 1987), supporting the passage of the OBRA 1987, fighting repeals of OBRA, increasing nursing home staffing and staff training, and improving the consumer’s experience transitioning from nursing homes to the community.

Read more about this month's gem here.

Find out more about Consumer Voice's 40th Anniversary here.

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Call for Session Proposals for Consumer Voice Annual Conference

Consumer Voice invites you to submit a proposal for a concurrent session at the 2015 Consumer Voice Annual Conference.

Click here for the Proposal Form

Proposal Guidelines:

• The Conference will be November 4-7, 2015 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, VA. Most conference sessions will be on November 5-7.
• All proposals must include speaker names, contact info, and a short bio of credentials.
• All speakers must register and pay the applicable conference rate by August 1, 2015.
• Travel expenses cannot be reimbursed.
• Speakers must provide electronic versions of any PowerPoints, reference materials, or handouts by October 15, 2015.
• Speakers are responsible for bringing handouts if any will be used.  PowerPoint capability will be available in all workshop rooms (screen, projector, computer). If you require additional AV support, there may be an additional charge.
• Proposals may be submitted for more than one session, but you must submit a separate form for each proposal.
• Sessions will be either 75 minutes or 90 minutes in length.

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Federal Resources for Caregivers

The White House Conference on Aging has compiled a list of federal resources for caregivers from the following agencies:

• Administration for Community Living (ACL)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• HHS Office of Women's Health (OWH)
• HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
• Social Security Administration
• U.S. Department of Vetarns Affairs (VA)

View the resources here.

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Survey Request for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers

Dementia Action Alliance is gathering feedback from people living in the United States with dementia, as well as family and friend care partners, on their priorities and preferences for accessing and utilizing information resources.  This collective feedback will be used to determine how best to make resource materials about living well with dementia available for people across the country.  The survey must be completed by June 26, 2015.  Survey for those living with dementia, click here.  Survey for family/friend care partners, click here.

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There's Still Time to Register for Tomorrow's Free Webinar for LTC Ombudsmen

Supporting Volunteer LTCO and Minimizing Risk
Wednesday, May 27 3:00pm - 4:30pm ET

Join us to discuss how risk management applies to every aspect of managing and supporting volunteer long-term care ombudsmen. Attendees will receive tips for screening volunteers, identifying and removing risk, and responding to situations when the actions, or inaction, of a volunteer LTCO negatively impacts your program.
Presenters: Sarah Hinzman, Volunteer Ombudsman Program & Americorps VISTA Project Coordinator, IA LTCOP; Darlene Cray, Volunteer Program Coordinator, NH LTCOP; and Amity Overall-Laib, Manager, LTCO Program & Policy, NORC.

Please note: We are hosting this webinar again due to the audio issues we experienced during the original webinar on April 30, 2015. The slides and materials from the first webinar are available on the NORC website.

This webinar is free and open to State and Local Long-Term Care Ombudsmen. Registration is limited.  To maximize participation, we ask that individuals from the same organization only register one person.

Register Now!

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Briefly Noted...

• We were flooded this year with so many outstanding entries to the Resident's Voice Challenge.  View them here and here.  We are continuing to sort through entries, so check back in coming weeks for even more great submissions!

Spotlight on Giving: Join Consumer Voice

Here are a few reasons why you should join Consumer Voice as a member:

1. We are making progress in advocating for the rights and well-being of all long-term care consumers.  The source of our capabilities is the membership and support of people like you and many partner organizations.
2. Most organizations are raising their membership fees, but we have either kept ours very low or we have reduced them for seniors and for long-term care professionals.
   
3. Take advantage of special members-only offers, including discounts on purchases and a discounted registration for the annual Consumer Voice Conference.
   

By purchasing a membership now, you support Consumer Voice and the movement advocating for the rights and well-being of everyone who now or in the future depends upon long-term care.

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Spotlight on Educational Resources

The Consumer Voice and the National Ombudsman Resource Center have a multitude of resources available online covering a wide range of long-term care topics.  Visit the Consumer Voice website and the NORC website to explore all the available resources.  Take a look at this week's highlighted resource:

Fact sheets for family members  - On the Consumer Voice website, you can find fact sheets specially tailored for family members covering a range of topics including: Selecting a Nursing Home, Getting Quality Care, Residents' Rights, and Family Involvement.

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In this Issue

Consumer Voice Gem: Long-Term Care Consumers

Call for Session Proposals for Consumer Voice Annual Conference

Federal Resources for Caregivers

Survey Request for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers

There's Still Time to Register for Tomorrow's Free Webinar for LTC Ombudsmen

Briefly Noted

Spotlight on Giving: Join Consumer Voice

Spotlight on Educational Resources

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!

Calendar of Events

Wednesday, May 27: Supporting Volunteer LTC Ombudsmen and Minimizing Risk, 3:00pm ET, Materials available here

Wednesday, May 27: Building Bridges Between Elder Justice Professionals and VOCA Administrators, 1:00pm ET, Webinar from the Office for Victims of Crime

Wednesday, June 10: Achieving Cultural Competence for the Younger Adult in the Long Term Care Setting - Part Two, 3:00pm ET, Nursing Home Social Work Webinar Series

Tuesday, June 30: Delivering Your Message: Utilizing Both Traditional Approaches and Social Media, Advocacy skills training webinar from the Consumer Voice

Thursday, August 27: How to Grow, Support, and Activate Your Network, Advocacy skills training webinar from the Consumer Voice

October: Residents' Rights Month, CARE Matters

November 4-7, 2015: Consumer Voice 39th Annual Conference, Crystal City, Virginia

Your Car Can Help Promote Quality Care - It's Easy!

Do you, a loved one or friend have a car that you or they would like to dispose of?  Now, Consumer Voice can help – and your used car can help Consumer Voice!  By working with our car disposal agency, Vehicle Donation to Any Charity (V-DAC), the proceeds from the sale of your car become a contribution to Consumer Voice.

Donating your car is easy - V-DAC comes to the location of the car and picks it up (whether the car can be driven or not).  Provide the car's registration and title, and V-DAC will send you a contribution letter with the amount of the donation that was made.

Note: We are actually registered with the service as “NCCNHR” so when asked which charity you would like to benefit, just say or type in “NCCNHR.”

Here is a link to our page on the V-DAC site http://v-dac.com/org?id=52-1122531 and you can get started there – or just call 877-999-8322 toll free.   And to discuss your donation with Consumer Voice, just write to us at info@theconsumervoice.org or call (202) 332-2275 x209

Join the conversation and follow us on social media!

Last Week's Most Popular Post:

Wednesday, May 20:
Today is Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Action Day!

Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:

Wednesday, May 20:
Can you believe nursing homes don't have to have a registered nurse 24 hrs a day? Let's change this. Take action TODAY

Long-Term Care Resources & News

• Complaints follow nursing home chain's expansion The Boston Globe, May 5, 2015

Read past issues of The Voice here.

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