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October 31, 2017
Oppose Efforts to Rollback and Delay the Nursing Home Rules; Sign a Letter to CMS!
Since their release in October 2016, there have been multiple efforts to undermine, repeal, and delay the recently revised federal nursing home regulations – the requirements of participation. These efforts continue to gain momentum. The rules provide important new protections for residents and need to be preserved. Support and protect residents by signing onto a Consumer Voice letter urging CMS to retain the requirements and implement them without delay.
To sign on, click here if you represent a group/organization/program. Click here if you are an individual. Sign-ons are due by November 15.
These updated, stronger regulations include a greater focus on person-centered care; improved protections against abuse, neglect and exploitation; improved staff training; notice to the ombudsman of proposed transfers/discharges; required infection prevention, and much more. Residents should not have to wait any longer for these – and other – rights and protections. With increasing needs of residents, and continued documentation of poor care in too many facilities, timely implementation of these regulations is needed now.
To learn more about the regulations and efforts to weaken or eliminate the standards, go to: http://theconsumervoice.org/issues/issue_details/proposed-revisions-to-the-federal-nursing-home-regulations.
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Senators Send Letter to HHS and CMS Requesting Delay in Requirements of Participation
With support from the American Health Care Association (AHCA), 24 U.S. Senators have sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requesting a delay in Phase 2 of the requirements of participation. The letter asks for a one-year delay of the rule's "overly burdensome provisions" which would give health officials more time to develop possible revisions. If granted, the delay would also save facilities an estimated $62,900 the regulations would cost in the first year.
For more information, read the article in McKnight's here.
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Article from Dr. Penny Shaw on Importance of Physicians Listening to Patients
Dr. Penny Ann Shaw, a resident of a nursing home, has published an article in Primary Care Progress on the importance of health care professionals listening to their patients. She recounts a recent story in which she visited her local walk-in clinic with flu-like symptoms only to have the physician try to escalate her care. It seems the physician was overwhelmed by Penny's complex medical history and would not listen to her insistence that she simply needed to be treated for her flu symptoms. Penny uses this story to illustrate the importance of physicians listening to patients with rare and complex medical histories because the patients have a lifetime of experience managing their own conditions and often know more about the care that they need. Read the full article here.
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New Issue Brief on Key Issues in LTSS Quality
A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation focuses on "Key Issues in Long-Term Services and Supports Quality." As 2017 is the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Nursing Home Reform Act, which substantially strengthened federal standards and enforcement of nursing home quality, the brief discusses where progress has been made as well as where there is still room for improvement. The brief also acknowledges the shift in the last several decades to home care and other community-based services and the need for quality measures in those settings. This issue brief discusses four key issues related to long-term services and supports (LTSS) including institutional and home and community-based services (HCBS) quality, highlighting major legislative and policy changes over the last 30 years. The four key issues identified are:
- How is long-term services and supports quality regulated?
- What is the state of long-term services and supports quality today?
- What is not known about long-term services and supports quality?
- What are the current challenges in long-term services and supports quality oversight?
Read the issue brief here.
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New Issue of The Resident Advocate Newsletter
The October 2017 issue of The Resident Advocate is now available for free download. The Resident Advocate, is a quarterly newsletter for residents of long-term care facilities. The newsletter is mailed free of charge to residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and board and care facilities and individuals receiving long-term care in their home or community. If you are an individual receiving long-term care and would like to have The Resident Advocate mailed to you, send your name and address to info@theconsumervoice.org. If you are a nursing facility, long-term care ombudsman or other advocate who would like copies of The Resident Advocate, you are welcome to download the issues from this webpage or purchase a mail subscription. Individual and bulk subscriptions are available through our online store.
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Spotlight on 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:
Program and Practice: LTCOP Advocacy in Assisted Living Facilities - Program Management: Training for Ombudsman Program Representatives - One of the first steps in program management is defining training requirements for Ombudsman program representatives (staff and volunteers) working in assisted living facilities (ALFs). This resource highlights key elements to include in training for Ombudsman program advocacy in ALFs (in addition to initial certification training that addresses the history, role, and responsibilities of the program).
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In this Issue
Oppose Efforts to Rollback and Delay the Nursing Home Rules; Sign a Letter to CMS!
Senators Send Letter to HHS and CMS Requesting Delay in Requirements of Participation
Article from Dr. Penny Shaw on Importance of Physicians Listening to Patients
New Issue Brief on Key Issues in LTSS Quality
New Issue of The Resident Advocate Newsletter
Spotlight on Resources
Combined Federal Campaign
#10552
Thank you for your support!
Calendar of Events
October: Residents' Rights Month
November 5-8, 2017: Consumer Voice 41st Annual Conference, Arlington, VA
Join the conversation and follow us on social media!
Last Week's Most Popular Post:
Wednesday, October 25:
Consumer Voice Governing Board Treasurer Hanna Fink represented Consumer Voice at a press briefing held by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz about emergency preparedness and nursing homes.
Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:
Thursday, October 26:
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal proclaimed October 2017 Residents' Rights Month
Long-Term Care Resources & News
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