Current Actions

• Support improved emergency measures for nursing home residents!

  Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) have introduced a bill that would better protect nursing home residents during and after emergencies. Key provisions include requiring nursing homes to have alternative sources of energy capable of heating, cooling and ventilation for at least 4 days; requiring states to prioritize nursing homes in the same manner as hospitals are prioritized in All-Hazards Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans; and authorizing civil monetary penalties up to $100,000 for non-compliance resulting in a resident’s death. To read the bill, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr4704/BILLS-115hr4704ih.pdf.

  To increase the chances of success, the bill needs as much congressional support and as many cosponsors as possible right from the beginning.  Members of Congress are more likely to support or sign on to a bill if it has support from national organizations and state/local groups/programs from their state. 

  Please show your support for the bill by agreeing to have your organization’s name listed on a letter from Congresswoman Wassermann Schultz and Congressman Walberg to their colleagues in the House asking Representatives to join them in enacting these commonsense reforms.  To indicate your support, fill out your organization's name and other information below by January 19, 2018.

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• Submit Comments to CMS on the Federal Nursing Home Regulations

  Dear Action Network Member:
  

  Although we had hoped you could use our own online system below to submit comments, we’ve experienced “technical difficulties” (really!). Apparently the comments are too lengthy.

  You still have two ways to submit your comments.

  1. Through the federal government’s website, www.regulations.gov.

  • Go to www.regulations.gov.
  • Type CMS-2015-0083 in the "SEARCH" box.
  • Click the blue "Comment Now!" box.
  • In the "Comments" box, paste in our sample comments available here or write your own.
  • Enter your information (name, e-mail, etc.).
  • Hit "Continue."
  • Review your submission and check box about filing on a publicly viewable website.
  • Hit "Submit."

  2. Through us. Just send your comments to us by email and we will submit them for you. Here’s how you do it:

  • Click here to download our sample comments. You can choose to use our sample comments or write your own.
  • After completing your comments, e-mail them to us at info@theconsumervoice.org (with the subject line referring to comments on the federal regulations). In your e-mail, include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and organization.
  • Get these comments to us by no later than September 13th - we will then send them to CMS on your behalf by the September 14th deadline!

• Tell Congress that Better Staffing is the Key to Better Care!

   

  We know that higher levels of staffing lead to better care, but the federal government does not require nursing homes to have at least a minimum number of staff on duty. As a result, every day across the country there are nursing home residents who aren’t getting the care they need because there aren’t enough aides and nurses.  Even the best nurses and nurse aides can’t deliver quality care if there aren’t enough of them. This is an issue that affects all of us; more than 40% of Americans who reach the age of 65 will spend some time in a nursing home during their remaining years. 

  We need your help in reaching out to Congress to advocate for adequate staffing to protect the safety and well-being of nursing home residents. Let your legislators know that our country's most vulnerable citizens deserve no less!

  We have drafted an e-mail letter you can send to legislators in your district and state. Please PERSONALIZE this letter (for example, through providing your experiences with understaffing in nursing facilities and the impact understaffing has on the quality of nursing home care) and send to your legislators using the form below!

  For more information on Consumer Voice's Staffing Campaign, click here.

• Tell Congress to Support Elder Justice Funding!

  Elder abuse is rising, while federal funding for the Elder Justice Act has remained the same – nothing. However, progress may finally be underway. The President’s FY 2015 budget request included $25 Million for an Elder Justice Initiative, which would create an Adult Protective Services (APS) National Data System, develop APS program standards, and support evidence-based research regarding elder abuse. This initiative is important for the following reasons: these provisions were part of the Elder Justice Act that passed with the Affordable Care Act, but were never funded; federal funding has never been appropriated to establish a national infrastructure for Adult Protective Services (there is currently no national database or national standards); elder abuse occurs in the community and long-term care facilities and victims of abuse have a 300% higher risk of death compared to individuals that have not been abused.

  The President has done his part and included this important elder justice funding in his budget. Now it's up to Congress! Tell your legislators to support the Administration’s request today.