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February 19, 2019
ACL Seeking Ideas for Future Activities of the EJCC
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is seeking comments and ideas for future activities of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC). The EJCC coordinates activities related to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation across the federal government. ACL is seeking comments, thoughts and ideas about what the EJCC should prioritize over the next two years. Examples of questions to address include:
- How have the EJCC’s past activities benefitted you or your affiliated programs?
- What activities, tools, resources, or components could most effectively advance elder justice at the state and local levels?
- How could the EJCC benefit the larger elder justice community?
- What is the best way to measure the EJCC’s impact and effectiveness?
Submit comments to ejcc@acl.hhs.gov with "Thoughts and Ideas" as the subject line through September 30, 2019. For more information, read the invitation for public comment.
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Webinar on Eldercare Locator
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are holding a webinar about the Eldercare Locator on Wednesday, February 27th at 2:00pm ET. The webinar will give an overview of how the Locator helps connect older adults and their caregivers to services and programs and will highlight features of the Locator's newly redesigned website. The new website includes a searchable database of local agencies and programs and a library of consumer-based resource materials. The webinar will cover how to navigate the website and how to link to the Native Service Locator.
Register for the webinar here.
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Congressman and Advocate John Dingell Dies
Former Congressman John Dingell, who served in the House of Representatives from 1955 to 2015, passed away earlier this month. Congressman Dingell was a strong advocate for the rights of nursing home residents. He sponsored the "Medicaid Nursing Home Quality Care Amendments of 1987" which was incorporated into OBRA 87 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987). Congressman Dingell's legislation was designed to provide standards of care and rights that would ensure that residents of nursing homes receive quality care that results in their achieving or maintaining their “highest practicable” physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being. The legislation also created the Residents Bil of Rights. Congressman Dingell's work made an important impact for the rights of nursing home residents. (Information from Elder Justice Coalition)
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Commemorating 40 Years of the LTCOP
ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging Lance Robertson wrote a blog post commemorating the 40th year of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The post highlights accomplishments of ombudsman programs across the country, presents ACL's ombudsman program data from fiscal year 2017, and highlights priority areas on which to focus the future. According to the data from fiscal year 2017, the most common type of complaints ombudsman programs received were regarding improper eviction or inadequate discharge planning. Of the 200,000 complaints resolved in that year, more than 14,000 related to improper eviction or inadequate discharge planning. They also provided over 400,000 instances of information and assistance on resident rights, care and community options to residents and over 125,000 instances of information and assistance to facility staff on issues of discharge planning, care, rights and abuse prevention. ACL set three areas to prioritize their work with the ombudsman program: implementing the Ombudsman Program Final Rule; Ombudsman Program Evaluation; and the National Ombudsman Reporting System (NORS) Data Collection.
Read the full blog post here.
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Reminder: Conference Session Proposals Due March 15
We are looking for session proposals for our 43rd Annual Conference November 3-6 in Arlington, Virginia. Session proposals must create an engaging, informative conference agenda that provides resources, tools, opportunities for discussion, and strategies our attendees can incorporate in their life and/or advocacy. Proposals are due March 15. Find more information on our website.
Spotlight on Resources
 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 and NORC websites to explore all the available resources. Check out this week's highlighted resource:
Forced Arbitration in Long-Term Care Facility Admission Contracts Webpage
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In this Issue
ACL Seeking Ideas for the Future Activities of the EJCC
Webinar on Eldercare Locator
Congressman and Advocate John Dingell Dies
Commemorating 40 Years of the LTCOP
Reminder: Conference Session Proposals Due March 15
Spotlight on Resources
Note About Accessing Our Email Links in Microsoft Edge
It has come to our attention that some of our email links are prompting a security error when opened in Microsoft Edge. The error is occurring because links in emails are routed via our email provider (Salsa/Wired for Change). Our email provider is working with Microsoft Edge to resolve the issue. In the meantime, please be assured that all of our email and web links are safe to access. If you are looking for a specific link from an email and would prefer to access it via a direct URL, please email info@theconsumervoice.org, and we can assist you.
Calendar of Events
Wednesday, February 27: Finding Local Providers and Resources Through the Eldercare Locator, 2:00pm ET, Webinar from CMS
Tuesday, March 12: Traumatic Brain Injury Stakeholder Day, Hosted by ACL in Washington, DC, RSVP to NCAPPS@acl.hhs.gov
November 3-6, 2019: Consumer Voice Annual Conference, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Virginia
Join the conversation and follow us on social media!
Last Week's Most Popular Post:
Friday, February 15:
If we really want to protect residents' access to justice, CMS should retain the ban on forced arbitration included in their 2016 nursing home rule.
Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:
Friday, February 15:
A rule is being finalized that could force nursing home residents to give up their access to justice if harmed.
Long-Term Care Resources & News
Read past issues of The Voice here.
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