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May 5, 2015

Put a Registered Nurse in a Nursing Home Action Day

Mark your calendars!  We are calling on all those who want to improve care for nursing home residents to take one moment on May 20 to ask their US Representatives  to co-sponsor H. R. 952 – the Put A Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act. You can call, email or tweet your member of Congress – we will provide all the information you need.  It’s fast and easy to do.  Stay tuned for more information!

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Reminder: Free Webinar on Round-the-Clock RN Coverage

Join us for a free webinar on
Round-the-Clock Registered Nurse Coverage
In Nursing Homes
May 12, 2015
2:00 - 3:30 PM EDT

Registered nurses (RNs) play a critical role in ensuring quality care for nursing home residents, yet current federal nursing home regulations require a RN to be on duty only 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. This webinar will discuss why having a registered nurse around the clock is so important and present information and data about current coverage in states and nationally, including findings from an award-winning investigative reporter. Participants will hear from U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky's staff about proposed legislation sponsored by the Congresswoman and learn how they can advocate for its passage.

Agenda:

  • Welcome & Introductions - Robyn Grant, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Consumer Voice
  • Overview of issue - Robyn Grant
  • Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act - Amy Kelbick, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
  • Why RN coverage is so important - Sarah Greene Burger, RN, MPH, FAAN; Coordinator, Coalition of Geriatric Nursing Organizations
  • Information and data about 24-hour RN coverage in states and nationally - Diane Carter, Executive Director, American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination; Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Lecturer, Journalism Department at Columbia College, Chicago
  • Advocacy Opportunities - Robyn Grant
To register for this webinar, please click here.

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Justice in Aging Releases Report on Person-Centered Care Planning

Justice in Aging has issued a new report entitled "A Right to Person-Centered Care Planning."  The report analyzes how well states are implementing a 2014 rule that creates the right to person-centered care planning for Medicaid consumers of Long-Term Services and Supports. This report, created with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, is a tool for health care providers, plan administrators, and advocates to help them understand the scope of the rules and to be able to identify when they fall short.  For more information, view the accompanying webinar.

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Resident's Voice Submissions Due in 10 Days

*Thank you to those who have already submitted entries for the Resident's Voice! We have received wonderful submissions and are looking forward to many more!

In celebration of Residents' Rights Month 2015, residents are encouraged to participate in the Resident's Voice Challenge by submitting essays, poems, artwork, drawings, or videos related to the theme for Residents' Rights Month 2015 "CARE Matters".  Click here for Resident's Voice submission guidelines.

  • 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 more - or less - to say? No problem! We will accept submissions of any length.)
  • Possible types of entries include: essays; poems or songs; artwork, drawings or photos; word collage; or video/audio recordings. Now we're especially looking for photos, artwork and drawings! Need some inspiration? Click here and here for examples of past entries.
  • Submissions are due by May 15, 2015.
  • Use this flyer to spread the word!

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Arbitration Fairness Act Reintroduced in House and Senate

Great news! Last Wednesday, April 29th, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Congressman Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) re-introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. This important legislation, which was introduced in the previous 113th Congress, would ban the use of pre-dispute, forced arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, including long-term care admission agreements, as well as in employment, antitrust or civil right disputes. As you may be aware, long term care facilities commonly require consumers to sign pre-dispute, forced arbitration clauses in admission contracts stating that they will agree to use arbitration in lieu of a court of law should any issue with their quality of care or quality of life arise. Over 90% of nursing homes now include these clauses in facility admission agreements. These clauses strip long-term care consumers of their constitutional right to a trial by jury and are often offered on a 'take it or leave it' basis, meaning if individuals do not sign the contracts, they will not be admitted into a facility. Many consumers and their loved ones sign these agreements without understanding what forced arbitration is or without any awareness that these clauses are included. Forced arbitration harms consumers as arbitrators are typically chosen by and side with the provider should any dispute arise. Forced arbitration also places additional costs on consumers and covers up instances of poor care, abuse and neglect. The Arbitration Fairness Act is critical in protecting long-term care consumers by banning the use of forced arbitration clauses.

Last week, Marybeth Williams, Public Policy Associate at  Consumer Voice, spoke at a briefing held by the Clearinghouse on Women's Issues and Alliance for Justice on forced arbitration and the negative impact it has on women as the predominant consumers of long-term care and the majority of informal caregivers. More information about the briefing will be available shortly at the Clearinghouse on Women's Issues website here. To learn more about the issue of forced arbitration in long-term care contracts, visit the Consumer Voice website here.

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Webinar "Supporting Volunteer LTC Ombudsmen and Minimizing Risk" to be Hosted Again May 27th

For those who attended the NORC webinar on Thursday, April 30th, “Supporting Volunteer LTC Ombudsmen and Minimizing Risk,” we sincerely apologize for the audio issues we experienced during the webinar. We are working with GoToWebinar to address and resolve these issues for the future. The materials from this webinar will be posted on the NORC website soon.

We will host this webinar again, in its entirety, on Wednesday, May 27, 3-4:30 ET. Please save the date and look for registration information soon.

Join us to discuss how risk management applies to every aspect of managing and supporting volunteer long-term care ombudsmen. Attendees will receive tips for screening volunteers, identifying and removing risk, and responding to situations when the actions, or inaction, of a volunteer LTCO negatively impacts your program. The presenters are: Sarah Hinzman, Volunteer Ombudsman Program & Americorps VISTA Project Coordinator, IA LTCOP; Darlene Cray, Volunteer Program Coordinator, NH LTCOP; and Amity Overall-Laib, Manager, LTCO Program & Policy, NORC.

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Webinar on Building Bridges Between Elder Justice Professionals and VOCA Administrators

The U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime is holding a webinar on May 27th at 1:00pm EST to address ways to build bridges between elder justice professionals and Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) administrators.  Deputy Director of Education and Policy for the Ohio Attorney General's Crime Victim Services Section Ursel McElroy Drake will share her knowledge and experience with elder justice and crime victim services in a webinar discussion of how elder justice professionals and VOCA administrators benefit from knowing more about each other. Attendees will learn possible ways to access VOCA funds for elder abuse programs and to seek collaborative opportunities. Register here.

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Spotlight on Giving: Mother's Day Shopping with AmazonSmile

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10th.  If you are doing your Mother's Day shopping on Amazon, be sure to use AmazonSmile.  Use this link or go to www.smile.amazon.com and choose NCCNHR as your charity.  Consumer Voice will recieve a portion of the purchase price every time you make a purchase.

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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:

New Ombudsman  - NORC's website has a special page dedicated to new ombudsmen.  This page includes information on the history of the long-term care ombudsman program, the ombudsman program in federal law and regulations, who are the key stakeholders in the long-term care ombudsman network and an overview of the resources for long-term care ombudsmen found on the NORC website.

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In this Issue

Put a Registered Nurse in a Nursing Home Action Day

Reminder: Free Webinar on Round-the-Clock RN Coverage

Justice in Aging Releases Report on Person-Centered Care Planning

Resident's Voice Submissions Due in 10 Days

Arbitration Fairness Act Reintroduced in House and Senate

Webinar "Supporting Volunteer LTC Ombudsmen and Minimizing Risk" to be Hosted Again May 27th

Webinar on Building Bridges Between Elder Justice Professionals and VOCA Administrators


Spotlight on Giving: Mother's Day Shopping with AmazonSmile

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

Tuesday, May 12: Round-the-Clock Registered Nurse Coverage in Nursing Homes, 2:00pm ET, Free national webinar from Consumer Voice

Thursday, May 14: FEMA Promising Practices: Closing Gaps in Local Emergency Plans and Grassroots Emergency Planning, 2:30pm EST, Webinar from the Pacific ADA Center and the ADA National Network

Wednesday, May 20: Put a Registered Nursing in a Nursing Home Action Day

Wednesday, May 27: Supporting Volunteer LTC Ombudsmen and Minimizing Risk, 3:00pm ET

Wednesday, May 27: Building Bridges Between Elder Justice Professionals and VOCA Administrators, 1:00pm ET, Webinar from the Office for Victims of Crime

Wednesday, June 10: Achieving Cultural Competence for the Younger Adult in the Long Term Care Setting - Part Two, 3:00pm ET, Nursing Home Social Work Webinar Series

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 4-7, 2015: Consumer Voice 39th Annual Conference, Crystal City, Virginia


Your Car Can Help Promote Quality Care - It's Easy!

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.

Donating your car is easy - V-DAC comes to the location of the car and picks it up (whether the car can be driven or not).  Provide the car's registration and title, and V-DAC will send you a contribution letter with the amount of the donation that was made.

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!

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Join in! Residents and consumers are invited to participate in the 2015 Resident's Voice Challenge.

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About The Voice

The Voice 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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