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March 17, 2015

Letter to Secretary Burwell Supports CMS's Steps to Improve Five Star Ratings, Calls for Other Improvements

Representatives from four consumer organizations, including Consumer Voice, have sent a letter to Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell supporting CMS’s steps to verify, expand and improve the Nursing Home Five Star Quality Ratings and urging timely completion of other improvements.  The letter states that "The recalibrated Five Star ratings are fairer to consumers and also to nursing homes that staff adequately and strive to ensure that residents do not experience avoidable decline in their physical or mental health or quality of life."  However, it points out that "Improvements to the accuracy of Nursing Home Compare and the ratings system are far from complete; and more needs to be done in addition to the improvements CMS is already undertaking."  Read the letter here.

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CANHR Releases Guide for Long-Term Care Consumers on False Imprisonment

California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) has released a new free guide for long-term care consumers entitled "Your Right to Leave: a Guide for Battling Forced Placement in Long-Term Care Facilities."  Residents are often illegally held in nursing homes or assisted living facilities against their will despite no judicial decision or legal process. "Your Right to Leave" explains how and why this happens but more importantly, details residents' rights to be free from forced placement and gives guidance on remedies. "Your Right to Leave" is the second guide in a CANHR series, following "Your Right to Visit" about visitation issues in long-term care facilities and hospitals.

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Recent Updates from NASUAD

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) has published the March 2015 Edition of the State Medicaid Integration Tracker. The State Medicaid Integration Tracker is a monthly report summarizing state actions in Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), as well as State Demonstrations to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals and other Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Initiatives. The Tracker also includes updates on state participation in other LTSS activities, including: the Balancing Incentive Program; Medicaid State Plan Amendments under §1915(i); Community First Choice Option under §1915(k); and Medicaid Health Homes.

NASUAD launched a training module providing participants with an overview of key issues relevant to providing information and referral/assistance (I&R/A) to individuals with disabilities. "Disability for I&R Specialists" is available on the NASUAD iQ learning center.

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Sen. Franken Hosts Briefing on Forced Arbitration

Last Thursday, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) hosted a briefing on a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that shows how the rights of consumers in Minnesota and across the country are being limited by forced arbitration. The event was hosted by Sen. Franken and representatives from the Fair Arbitration Now Coalition, a coalition of national consumer, employee, and public interest groups.  Watch a video of the briefing here.

Read Consumer Voice's press release on the issue.

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Reminder: Participate in the 2015 Resident's Voice Challenge

As a part of Residents’ Rights Month 2015, Consumer Voice is pleased to announce the Resident’s Voice Challenge!  Residents' Rights Month is designated by the Consumer Voice and is celebrated in October each year to honor residents living in all long-term care facilities and consumers receiving care in their homes and communities.   For this year’s Challenge, residents are encouraged to submit essays, poems, artwork, drawings, or videos related to the theme for Residents' Rights Month 2015 "CARE Matters".

  • Residents and consumers are asked to submit 40 words of wisdom to coincide with the celebration of Consumer Voice’s 40th anniversary.  Some entries may appear in our “40 Words of Wisdom” book - on sale this summer. (Have a little more - or less - to say? No problem! We will accept entries of any length.)
  • Every resident who submits an entry will receive a certificate for participating in the 2015 Resident’s Voice.
  • Possible types of entries include: essays; poems or songs; artwork, drawings or photos; word collage; or video/audio recordings.  See examples of past entries here.
  • Submissions are due by May 15, 2015.

For more information, visit the website.

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Resources Available on the New LTCOP Regulations

The Administration for Community Living recently published the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Final Rule, which guides the implementation of the portions of the Older Americans Act governing grants to states for operation of Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman programs.  To help long-term care ombudsmen and stakeholders understand and start thinking through how to implement the provisions in the new rule, NORC has developed the following new resources:

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program final rule now can be found online in the Federal Register, here.  Click here to access the recording and materials of the March 2, 2015 webinar on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Rule.

Briefly Noted...

  • Elders who are enculturated into being respectful of authority and government agencies – or who are isolated – are vulnerable to these scams: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/phony-irs-agents-target-thousands-in-huge-tax-scam/.
  • Dr. Bill Thomas has announced a 30 city tour to promote the idea of communitywide planning for long-term care and to replace nursing homes by other means.  Read his blog: http://changingaging.org/blog/the-age-of-disruption-is-here/
  • Dick Weinman, who authored “The Thin Edge of Dignity” about life in assisted living, writes a regular blog. Here is his most recent contrasting the lifestyles of two residents: http://states.aarp.org/the-strider-and-the-sitter-by-dick-weinman-the-thin-edge-of-dignity/

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Spotlight on Giving: Gifts in Honor and in Memory

A gift to Consumer Voice is a great way to honor an important advocate or family caregiver or to remember a special resident, family member or friend.  When you make a gift in honor or in memory to Consumer Voice, you are supporting the mission of quality care for all long-term care consumers.  Provide contact information and Consumer Voice will send a letter acknowledging your contribution to the person being honored or to the family of the person being remembered.  Make a contribution here and click "Memorial/Honor Donation."

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Spotlight on Educational Resources

The 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 website and the NORC website to explore all the available resources.  Take a look at this week's highlighted resource:

Residents' Rights Activities  - How do you highlight residents' rights? Consumer Voice has compiled a list of activities for residents, staff and ombudsmen to put the spotlight on residents' rights.  Activities include Communicating Residents' Rights Through Music, holding a Residents' Rights Rally, and A Day in the Life Photo Challenge.  Be sure to participate in this year's Resident's Voice Challenge as a part of Residents' Rights Month 2015.

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In this Issue

Letter to Secretary Burwell Supports CMS's Steps to Improve Five Star Ratings, Calls for Other Improvements

CANHR Releases Guide for Long-Term Care Consumers on False Imprisonment

Recent Updates from NASUAD

Sen. Franken Hosts Briefing on Forced Arbitration

Reminder: Participate in the 2015 Resident's Voice Challenge

Resources Available on the New LTCOP Regulations

Briefly Noted...

Spotlight on Giving: Gifts in Honor and in Memory

Spotlight on Educational Resources


4.1 It CAN Be Done!

As part of our nursing home staffing campaign, Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care, Consumer Voice is advocating for a minimum of 4.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day.  To show your support of this campaign, individuals can send us a photo with the slogan "4.1 - It CAN Be Done" by tweeting us pictures @ConsumerVoices, posting on our Facebook or emailing your photos to info@theconsumervoice.org.  Get the word out and encourage consumers to participate by sending in their photos too!


Calendar of Events

April 20-22: HealthCare Chaplaincy Network's Caring for the Human Spirit Conference, Orlando, FL

Wednesday April 29: Delivering Your Message in Person: The Nuts and Bolts of Meeting with a Key Decision Maker, Advocacy skills training webinar from the Consumer Voice

Tuesday, June 30: Delivering Your Message: Utilizing Both Traditional Approaches and Social Media, Advocacy skills training webinar from the Consumer Voice

Thursday, August 27: How to Grow, Support, and Activate Your Network, Advocacy skills training webinar from the Consumer Voice

October: Residents' Rights Month, CARE Matters

November 5-7, 2015: Consumer Voice 39th Annual Conference, Crystal City, Virginia


Your Car Can Help Promote Quality Care

Do you, a loved one or friend have a car that you or they would like to dispose of?  Now, Consumer Voice can help – and your used car can help Consumer Voice!  By working with our car disposal agency, Vehicle Donation to Any Charity (V-DAC), the proceeds from the sale of your car become a contribution to Consumer Voice.  

Note: We are actually registered with the service as “NCCNHR” so when asked which charity you would like to benefit, just say or type in “NCCNHR.”

Here is a link to our page on the V-DAC site http://v-dac.com/org?id=52-1122531 and you can get started there – or just call 877-999-8322 toll free.   And to discuss your donation with Consumer Voice, just write to us at info@theconsumervoice.org or call (202) 332-2275 x209


Join the conversation and follow us on social media!

Last Week's Most Popular Post:

Sunday, March 15:
Meeting the needs of people depending upon long-term care services and supports is likely to require many different approaches.  Here's a program in Holland that has college students residing in what in the U.S. appears to be assisted living.

Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:

Thursday, March 12
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Tell everyone you know about this, especially vulnerable elders.


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About The Gazette

The Gazette is a weekly e-newsletter, published by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. If you do not wish to continue receiving this publication, please unsubscribe below. Your contributions and comments are welcome and should be sent to info@theconsumervoice.org. Copyright © 2015.

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The Consumer Voice is the leading national voice representing consumers in issues related to long-term care, helping to ensure that consumers are empowered to advocate for themselves. We are a primary source of information and tools for consumers, families, caregivers, advocates and ombudsmen to help ensure quality care for the individual. The Consumer Voice's mission is to represent consumers at the national level for quality long-term care, services and supports.


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