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February 28, 2017

Save the Date for the 2017 Consumer Voice Conference

November 5-8, 2017
Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel
Arlington, Virginia

The 2017 Conference will feature:

  • One-on-one dialogue with consumers of long-term services and supports;
  • The latest policy updates directly from key experts at the federal level;
  • Best practices nationwide;
  • Skills trainings, tools and resources;
  • Specific information and takeaways to help you put your systems or individual advocacy into action!

Stay tuned for more information on the agenda, registration and discounts.  Can't wait to see you there!

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Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes

In light of the recent CNN investigation, "Sick, Dying and Raped in America's Nursing Homes," Consumer Voice issued several statements on sexual abuse in nursing homes.  Consumer Voice expressed outrage and horror in response to the findings in the report. “We have been advocating for quality care for more than four decades, yet the findings of the CNN investigation are among the most shocking and frightening we have ever encountered," said Executive Director Lori Smetanka. "The sexual abuse of defenseless, vulnerable residents who can’t remove themselves from harm, often can’t communicate what has happened, and are frequently not believed even when they do, is reprehensible.”

The cases highlighted in the CNN report represent a complete breakdown at every level of the system designed to protect nursing home residents.  There are many contributing factors –including insufficient staff and training, inadequate background checks, failure to report allegations, inadequate investigations, and lack of prosecution.  Read Consumer Voice's full statement here.

Consumer Voice also issued a joint statement along with the National Center on Elder Abuse and the National Organization for Victim Assistance.  The statement included physical and social indicators that a nursing home resident is being sexually abused and provided information on how to get help.  Read the full statement here.

Consumer Voice has many abuse-related resources on our website.  Click here for fact sheets, presentations, and further information on sexual abuse.

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U.S. Supreme Court Discusses Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Home Contracts

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the validity of arbitration agreements in nursing homes.  The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of arbitration agreements in cases involving technology companies, but the court appeared to take a different approach when discussing arbitration agreements when used in nursing homes. "The context here seems different from the arbitration cases that we've had in recent years," said Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. "This doesn't involve an arbitration about the amount that you were charged for your cable bill or for your telephone bill. This involves a situation where an elderly person needs care." For more information, read the article in Modern Healthcare.

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Senate Aging Committee Hearing on Financial Exploitation

On February 15, 2017, the United States Senate Aging Committee held a hearing on developments in financial fraud that affect seniors. Several witnesses testified at the hearing, including Diane Menio, Executive Director of the Center for Advocacy for the Rights & Interests of the Elderly (CARIE). The witnesses focused on the most common forms of fraud committed against seniors, primarily being Internal Revenue Service (IRS) impersonation scams. Menio talked about the most successful ways to combat this financial elder abuse. One way is by improving awareness of financial exploitation, particularly in the form of educational campaigns, such as the ScamWire alerts sent out by CARIE that inform seniors about current trends in scams.

While monetary losses to financial exploitation scams have increased in the last year, reporting of possible impersonations have also increased. From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016, the Aging Committee Fraud Hotline received more than 2,200 complaints, 1,680 of which were in relation to IRS Impersonation Scams. With the amount of money lost in these scams increasing, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) have introduced a bill entitled The Senior $afe Act, which is designed to encourage banks and credit unions to work closely with local Adult Protection

To watch the video and read statements made by Committee members and witness, click here. Consumer Voice has a multitude of resources on preventing and protecting residents from financial exploitation on our website.

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Diverse Elders Coalition Briefing

Last Thursday, the Diverse Elders Coalition held a briefing on the serious and significant challenges faced by underserved aging populations.

This coalition of five national organizations advocates to improve policies and programs in American Indian/Alaska Native communities; Asian American, Pacific Islander American, and Native Hawaiian communities; Black and African American communities; Hispanic and Latino communities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

In their recently released report, they found that there were striking similarities in needs across all their communities. Based on their collection of nearly 5,000 comments from older adults, their members and advocates, the Diverse Elders Coalition recommends policies that provide: “culturally and linguistically competent services; greater support for aging-in-place; and accurate, disaggregated data collection.”

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Justice in Aging Webinar on How Medicaid Funding Caps Harm Older Americans

Join Justice in Aging on Tuesday, March 7th at 2:00pm ET for a free webinar entitled "Medicaid Funding Caps Would Harm Older Americans." This webinar will explain why the cap proposals would be harmful to the over six million older Americans who rely upon Medicaid coverage. The webinar will include advocacy strategies to retain current Medicaid protections and prevent cuts.  Register for the webinar here.  For more information on the issue, read Justice in Aging's blog post, fact sheet and issue brief.

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National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and QAPI MLN Connects Call

Join the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and QAPI MLN Connects Call.  During this call, learn about the Creating a Culture of Person-Directed Dementia Care project grant award. The Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network will share information about the new QAPI Written Plan How-To Guide that can assist long-term care providers with performance improvement efforts. Additionally, CMS experts share updates on the progress of the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes and Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI). Register here.

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LTCCC Reports on Facility Deficiences

The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) has released two reports on quality of care in nursing homes.  "Chronic Deficiencies in Care: The Persistence of Recurring Failures to Meet Minimum Safety & Dignity Standards in U.S. Nursing Homes" includes a list of over 6,000 nursing homes which LTCCC identifies as having "chronic deficiences" - three or more citations for the same health or safety standard in a three-year period.  The report is based on data from Nursing Home Compare.

The second report, "The Identification of Resident Harm in Nursing Home Deficiencies: Observation & Insights," assessed how resident harm is identified when facilities are cited for violating care standards.  The analysis found that even for nursing homes with the lowest star rating, resident harm was only identified in less than half of the facilities.

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n4a Report on Supporting Aging Prisoners

n4a released a report entitled "Supporting America's Aging Prisoner Population: Opportunities & Challenges for Area Agencies on Aging."  The report highlights innovative programs that support aging prisoners being offered by Areas Agencies on Aging in several states.  The report also includes findings from a survey of AAAs on programs currently supporting aging prisoners, the nature of the programs and indication of further interest.

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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:

Forced Arbitration Agreements in Long-Term Care Facility Admission Contracts - This Consumer Voice issue page contains information on forced pre-dispute arbitration agreements and the dangers they pose to long-term care consumers.

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In this Issue

Save the Date for the 2017 Consumer Voice Conference

Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes

U.S. Supreme Court Discusses Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Home Contracts

Senate Aging Committee Hearing on Financial Exploitation

Diverse Elders Coalition Briefing

Justice in Aging Webinar on How Medicaid Funding Caps Harm Older Americans

National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and QAPI MLN Connects Call

LTCCC Reports on Facility Deficiencies

n4a Report on Supporting Aging Prisoners


Spotlight on Resources


Combined Federal Campaign

#10552

Thank you for your support!


Calendar of Events

Tuesday, March 7: Medicaid Funding Caps Would Harm Older Americans 2:00pm ET, Webinar from Justice in Aging

November 5-8, 2017: Consumer Voice 41st Annual Conference, Arlington, VA


Join the conversation and follow us on social media!

Last Week's Most Popular Post:

Wednesday, February 22:
CNN released a report on the prevalence of rape and sexual abuse in nursing homes across the country.

Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:

 
Friday, February 24
:
CV along with @NCEAatUSC & @NOVAVictims issued a statement on the recent CNN report on sexual abuse in nursing homes


Long-Term Care Resources & News



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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. 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 © 2017.

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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. Consumer Voice's mission is to represent consumers at the national level for quality long-term care, services and supports.


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