|
August 23, 2016
Urge Congress to Continue the Money Follows the Person Program
"I’m free!" This is what many people of all ages say when they move out of an institutional setting or nursing facility and back to the community under the federal Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration program. MFP gives people the right to decide where they live and receive home and community services and supports. It provides assistance, support and funding to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, individuals with physical disabilities, and older adults who want to transition out of an institution or facility to their own home or a community residence.
Since 2005, MFP has assisted more than 51,000 people with moving into a setting of their choice, and has helped 44 states improve access to home and community-based services. In addition, the MFP program provides an important quality framework and data collection and reporting requirements to build a solid state HCBS infrastructure.
MFP is a program where everyone wins: individuals regain their independence, and state and federal governments save money because it costs less to provide services and supports in the community rather than in an institution.
Yet despite strong bi-partisan support, this crucial program is about to DISAPPEAR. Unless Congress takes action, the MFP program will end on Sept 30, 2016. This means that fewer people will be able to move back into the community, and state progress and momentum to shift systems from institutional to more cost-effective home and community-based settings will be slowed.
Tell your members of Congress to continue the Money Follows the Person program. Send a message by clicking here. Freedom should be for everyone!
Thank you for your advocacy!
Back to Top
The Resident's Voice
What would you do if you were elected President of the United States? What issues are most important to you? In this current election year, everyone is talking about the issues that mean the most to them. What about long-term care issues? If the residents receiving care in your area or facility were running for President, what would they do, if anything, to improve the long-term care system? What would their platform be? Ask them as part of this year's Resident Voice!
Get them started in discussions with their peers in the facility by inviting them to share their views as a part of this year's Resident's Voice Challenge, in honor of 2016 Residents' Rights Month. Creative writing and artistic expression are meaningful and compelling ways to communicate the importance of residents’ rights and how these rights can be carried out in all long-term care settings. Use this year's theme, "My Vote Matters," to get residents engaged in politics and the presidential election. (Click here for full Resident's Voice guidelines and criteria.)
Residents are invited to participate in the "Resident President" activity. During this activity, residents are asked to imagine they are running for president with a platform of residents' rights. Residents create a campaign poster, sharing what they stand for. See an example of completed Resident President posters below (click the image to view larger).
Get started with the Resident President activity by purchasing a My Vote Matters Toolkit:
Remember, all Resident's Voice Challenge entries must be submitted by September 15th, so start organizing your activities now! For further info and more suggestions for activities, visit our website.
Questions? Contact info@theconsumervoice.org
Back to Top
CFPB Creates Placemats to Help Prevent Elder Fraud
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has created placemats to be placed on meal trays across the country to help prevent elder fraud and exploitation. The placemats provide tips for avoiding scams and can be distributed to a senior center, meal program, or to loved ones.
The placemats are available in English and Spanish and can be ordered for free here. For more information, read CFPB's blog.
Back to Top
CMS Increases Mandatory Enforcement in Nursing Homes
For the first time since 1994 when the federal nursing home enforcement regulations were published, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has increased the amount and type of situations when civil monetary penalties (CMPs) must be imposed without first giving the facilities an opportunity to correct their noncompliance. The federal Nursing Home Reform Law mandates that CMS impose CMPs and other enforcement actions at nursing homes that violate the Requirements of Participation, the federal nursing home regulations.
CMS's new policy is effective for all nursing home surveys completed after September 1, 2016 and requires the immediate imposition of CMPs at nursing homes.
For more information, read the alert from the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
Back to Top
ACL Awards $2.2 Million to Adult Protective Services Systems
The Administration for Community Living's (ACL) Administration on Aging has announced $2.2 million in grants to assist 13 state Adult Protective Services (APS) systems in addressing the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults and individuals with disabilities. States awarded grants are: Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee. The two-year grants will be used to enhance statewide APS systems, improve practices and data collection, and interface with ACL's National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). For more information, read the announcement from ACL.
Back to Top
New Report on California Nursing Home Chains by Ownership Type
Leslie Ross, Ph. D. and Charlene Harrington, Ph.D. from the University of California San Francisco have published a report entitled "California Nursing Home Chains By Ownership Type - Facility and Resident Characteristics, Staffing, and Quality Outcomes in 2015." The report reviews the type of ownership among California nursing homes. It uses publicly available data on nursing home organization structure (for-profit vs. nonprofit; chain vs. non-chain), facility and resident characteristics, nursing staffing levels and quality outcomes to create a snapshot of the current state of California's nursing homes. The report is intended for long-term care ombudsman programs, advocacy organizations, state licensing and certification agencies, the state attorney general, the public and policymakers.
Read the report here. Download the databook in Excel here.
Back to Top
CMS/ACL Webinar on Innovative Strategies for Implementing the HCBS Rule
CMS and the Administration for Community Living are hosting a webinar panel of providers and consumers to share innovative strategies and models used in a variety of settings that effectively use resources, promote integration into the community, and support person-centered services. The webinar entitled "Innovative Strategies for Implementing the HCBS Rules in Settings Serving Aging Americans" will include a panel that will speak about effective practices they have used and benefited from that can be repeated in other parts of the country through the lens of implementing the federal HCBS requirements. The webinar is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 24th from 1:30pm - 3:00pm ET. Join the webinar here.
Back to Top
Spotlight on Educational Resources
The Consumer Voice and the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) 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:
Infection Prevention - In conjunction with the Health Education and Research Trust (HRET) of the American Hospital Association, the Consumer Voice partnered with 8 state long-term care ombudsman programs on a project to reduce health-care associated infections (HAIs) in nursing homes. The project focused on infection prevention and on one HAI in particular- catheter associated urinary tract infections and infection prevention (CAUTI). Find tools to educate and engage residents and families in CAUTI and infection prevention on our website.
Back to Top
|
In this Issue
Urge Congress to Continue the Money Follows the Person Program
The Resident's Voice
CFPB Creates Placemats to Help Prevent Elder Fraud
CMS Increases Mandatory Enforcement in Nursing Homes
ACL Awards $2.2 Million to Adult Protective Services Systems
New Report on California Nursing Homes By Ownership Type
CMS/ACL Webinar on Innovative Strategies for Implementing the HCBS Rule
Spotlight on Educational Resources
Combined Federal Campaign
#10552
Thank you for your support!
Register for Our Next Webinar - Obtaining Quality Care for Residents with Dementia
September 13, 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET
When the needs of residents living with dementia are met, incidences of resident stress are significantly reduced. Practicing person-centered approaches and interventions increase the likelihood that the message being communicated by the resident will actually be heard and addressed, leading to better outcomes and more satisfaction for the resident. This webinar presents successful person-centered strategies that lead to quality care for residents with dementia.
Presenter: Jonathan Evans, MD
Webinar is $65. Consumer Voice members get 10% off - email info@theconsumervoice.org for discount code.
Register Now!
Calendar of Events
August: National Immunization Awareness Month
Tuesday, September 13: Obtaining Quality Care for Residents with Dementia, 2:00pm ET, Webinar from Consumer Voice
October: My Vote Matters, Residents' Rights Month 2016
Tuesday, October 11: Piecing Together Quality Long-Term Care, 2:00pm ET, Webinar from Consumer Voice
November 2-5, 2016: Consumer Voice 40th Annual Conference, Arlington, VA
Join the conversation and follow us on social media!
Last Week's Most Popular Post:
Friday, August 19:
For the first time since 1994 when the federal nursing home enforcement regulations were published, CMS has increased the amount and type of situations when CMPs must be imposed without first giving the facilities an opportunity to correct their noncompliance.
Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:
Friday, August 19:
CMS Increases Mandatory Enforcement to Protect Nursing Home Residents
Long-Term Care Resources & News
Read past issues of The Voice here.
Support the Consumer Voice While You Shop Online
.jpg)
|
