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May 15, 2018
New Courses Available in the Consumer Voice and NORC Online Training Center
New courses are available in the Consumer Voice and NORC Online Training Center. The Online Training Center is an on-demand education platform which allows you to delve into important topics through our online courses. Courses are available for consumers, representatives of long-term care Ombudsman programs, advocates, and family members through your computer or mobile device.
The course Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation - for Consumers, Family and Advocates will give you tools and resources which can be used to help detect, prevent, and create awareness about abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of property. This course also includes sections on Financial Exploitation and Resident-to-Resident Mistreatment. Another new course, Revised Federal Nursing Home Regulations, provides a deeper dive into the revised federal nursing regulations and looks in depth into topics like: assessments, care planning and discharge planning; unnecessary drugs and antipsychotic medications; involuntary transfer and discharge; nursing services; admission; visitation rights; rehabilitation services; return to facility after hospitalization; and quality of care. The third new course, Nursing Home Transitions, provides information and resources on the difficult transitions from home to facility, facility to facility, or facility back home.
To enroll in a course you must create an account. Watch this video for an overview of the Training Center. Step-by-step instructions for enrolling and navigating a course are available here. New courses are located in the Consumer Voice Courses category. Access the Online Training center at consumervoice.mrooms.net. Stay tuned - new courses are being developed and will be posted in coming weeks.
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PHI Releases Recruitment and Retention Guide for Employers of Direct Care Workers
PHI National has released "Growing a Strong Direct Care Workforce: A Recruitment and Retention Guide for Employers." The guide seeks to answer the question "What are the best ways to find and keep direct care workers in long-term care?" PHI compiled a range of strategies to help providers recruit and retain direct care workers and improve the delivery of care. The guide provides three key takeaways:
- Developing a successful recruitment & retention strategy takes time - but the investment pays off.
- The key to retaining a committed direct care workforce is to recruit the right individuals from the start.
- As with all employees, direct care workers need room to learn and grow in their jobs.
Access the guide here.
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Consumer Voice Leaders Participate in AARP Foundation Roundtable on Misuse of Antipsychotic Drugs
AARP Foundation held a roundtable last week on the misuse of antipsychotic drugs. Consumer Voice Executive Director Lori Smetanka was a presenter and panelist at the event, and Consumer Voice Governing Board Member Dr. Jonathan Evans was a featured speaker and panelist. The roundtable, entitled "Invisible People: The Misuse of Antipsychotic Drugs With Nursing Facility Residents Who Have Dementia" raised awareness about people with dementia in nursing homes who are inappropriately medicated with antipsychotic drugs and promoted the use of non-drug interventions. AARP has provided several resources on the issue:
Consumer Voice's Misuse of Antipsychotics Issue page provides information and resources on ending the misuse of antipsychotics among nursing home residents.
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Consumer Voice Sends Letter Recommending Increased Funding for Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
Consumer Voice sent a letter to the House Committee on Appropriations recommending an increase of $24.98 million in funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The letter emphasized the long-term care ombudsmen's role in advocating for quality care for long-term care consumers. The letter also demonstrated the ways ombudsmen promote quality care by resolving complaints, visiting residents in facilities, providing information about long-term care to individuals, and providing information, assistance and training to long-term care facility staff. Consumer Voice supports increased funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in order to provide residents with the advocacy, assistance, and support they need to obtain quality of care and quality of life. The letter recommended funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in the Elder Justice Act, level funding for federal fiscal year 2019 in Title VII, and new funding to create new ombudsman positions dedicated to assisted living, board and care, and similar community-based long-term care settings. Read the full letter here.
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Today is National Senior Fraud Awareness Day
The U.S. Senate has designated today, May 15, 2018, as "National Senior Fraud Awareness Day" to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeted at older people, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent these scams from happening, and to improve protections from these scams for seniors. The Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans has several resources to help protect older adults from financial exploitation:
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Quality Improvement Tools Available from National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign
The National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign has several resources available on their Quality Improvement Tools page. The page includes quick start resources, like Insitute for Healthcare Improvement's Quality Improvement Essentials Toolkit, and tried and true techniques like the 5 Whys, PDSA cycles, Cause and Effect diagrams, eliminating waste, and more.
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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:
About Ombudsmen - This NORC issue page provides information about long-term care ombudsmen and how they advocate for quality care; resources include a short video and infographic.
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In this Issue
New Courses Available in the Consumer Voice and NORC Online Training Center
PHI Releases Recruitment and Retention Guide for Employers of Direct Care Workers
Consumer Voice Leaders Participate in AARP Foundation Roundtable on Misuse of Antipsychotic Drugs
Consumer Voice Sends Letter Recommending Increased Funding for Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
Today is National Senior Fraud Awareness Day
Quality Improvement Tools Available from National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign
Spotlight on Resources
Registration Now Open!
Registration is open for the 2018 Consumer Voice Annual Conference. Find the preliminary agenda, session topics and information on discounts here.
Register Now!
Calendar of Events
May: Older Americans Month
Tuesday, May 15: National Senior Fraud Awareness Day
Wednesday, May 16: Understanding Durable Medical Equipment, 2:00pm ET, Webinar from the National Center on Law & Elder Rights
Thursday, May 17: A Closer Look at the Relationship Between Resident Satisfaction and Quality Measures in Nursing Homes, 2:00pm ET, Consumer Voice Webinar
Friday, June 15: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Tuesday, June 26: Ending Nursing Home Violence Between Residents: Prevention, Intervention, and Advocacy, 3:00pm ET, NORC Webinar
October: Residents' Rights Month, Speak Up: Know Your Rights and How to Use Them
October 22-24: Consumer Voice Annual Conference, Alexandria, Virginia
Join the conversation and follow us on social media!
Last Week's Most Popular Post:
Wednesday, May 9:
Shame on you, Louisiana! This is not only heartless and harmful to the nursing home residents and their families, it is bad policy.
Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:
Tuesday, May 8:
Join us May 17 2pm ET for a free webinar "A Closer Look at the Relationship Between Resident Satisfaction and Quality Measures in Nursing Homes."
Long-Term Care Resources & News
Read past issues of The Voice here.
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