|
October 17, 2017
Lance Robertson, Assistant Secretary for Aging, to Speak at Consumer Voice Conference
On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, during the Consumer Voice Conference, the annual Resident Empowerment Luncheon will feature special guest Assistant Secretary for Aging and Administrator of the Administration for Community Living Lance Robertson.
President Trump appointed Lance Robertson to serve as Assistant Secretary for Aging and ACL's Administrator on August 11, 2017. Mr. Robertson was Oklahoma's Director of the Aging Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services. As Director of Aging Services, he oversaw 19 major programs, including the Older Americans Act program and the state’s Home & Community Based Services Medicaid Waiver (ADvantage). Prior to that, he was at Oklahoma State University for 12 years, where he co-founded the Gerontology Institute and contractually served as Executive Director of PartnerShips for Aging, the largest regional gerontology association in the United States. Mr. Robertson is past president of the National Association of States United for Aging & Disabilities (NASUAD).
Read more about Mr. Robertson here.
The Resident Empowerment Luncheon will also include a dialogue with long-term care consumers about this year's Residents' Rights Month theme - It's All About Me: My Life, My Care, My Choices. Individuals receiving long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in home-based settings will speak about what contributes to their quality of life and what it will take to bring about good quality care.
Do not miss this important event! Register today for the Consumer Voice Conference!
Back to Top
Observation Status Toolkit from Center for Medicare Advocacy
The Center for Medicare Advocacy has a new toolkit on observation status. Observation status is an "outpatient" category used by hospitals to bill Medicare. People are often not told of their observation status, and many people are designated as observation status even when they are extremely sick and spend several days in the hospital. Notably, observation status can affect patients' ability to obtain Medicare coverage if they need nursing home care after their stay in the hospital. Medicare only covers nursing home care for patients who had a 3-day inpatient hospital stay; observation status does not count towards the inpatient stay. Center for Medicare Advocacy's Observation Status toolkit includes a fact sheet on the topic, FAQs, and a beneficiary self-help packet. They are also seeking stories about beneficiaries' experiences with observation status.
Back to Top
Quality Improvement Organizations Provide Support to Medicare Beneficiaries
Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organizations (BFCC-QIOs) offer help free of charge to assist people with Medicare in getting the best care possible.
Two BFCC-QIOs, KEPRO and Livanta, serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories. BFCC-QIOs provide the following services:
- Immediate advocacy regarding medical care
- Quality of care complaints
- Discharge appeals
To read more about BFCC-QIO services, visit http://qioprogram.org/patients-caregivers. Find the contact information for your state’s BFCC-QIO at http://qioprogram.org/contact-zones.
Back to Top
How are you celebrating Residents' Rights Month?
Advocates across the country have been holding events and promoting Residents' Rights Month in the media. We have received photos, articles, stories and details about It's All About Me events nationwide. Thank you for helping us celebrate this month and honor residents' rights!
- Pennsylvania’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Volunteers are hosting Facebook lives events every Wednesday in October to celebrate Residents' Rights Month 2017. Plus, VOICE (Voice of Inspired Change for Elders, formerly known as Pennsylvania Culture Change Coalition) and Pennsylvania's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office are partnering to offer a free webinar on person-centered care planning.
- In Cleveland, LTC Ombudsman Program Director Jeni Coyne published a letter to the editor in Cleveland.com.
- An article about Residents' Rights Month was published in the Muskogee Phoenix in Oklahoma.
- In Missouri, LTC Ombudsman Assistant Director Emily Smith published a letter to the editor in the Southeast Missourian.
See more events and media coverage here. What's going on in your area? Send photos and details about Residents' Rights Month news and events to info@theconsumervoice.org.
Plus, check out submissions to the Resident's Voice Challenge here.
Back to Top
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:
The Who, What, Where, Why, and How of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program - Slides and recording of a NORC webinar which reviews the Ombudsman Program's responsibilities.
Back to Top
|
In this Issue
Lance Robertston, Assistant Secretary for Aging, to Speak at Consumer Voice Conference
Observation Status Toolkit from Center for Medicare Advocacy
Quality Improvement Organizations Provide Support to Medicare Beneficiaries
How are you celebrating Residents' Rights Month?
Spotlight on Resources
Combined Federal Campaign
#10552
Thank you for your support!
Calendar of Events
October: Residents' Rights Month
Wednesday, October 18: Exploring the Resources and Supports of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's Paralysis Resource Center, 2:00pm ET, NORC Webinar
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:
Friday, October 17:
Penny Shaw, PhD, is a former university faculty member who taught English to speakers of other languages and is now a nursing home resident. In a recent article in the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, she shares her observations.
Last Week's Most Popular Tweet:
Tuesday, October 10:
FREE webinar 10/18 - Exploring the Resources of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's Paralysis Resource Center
Long-Term Care Resources & News
Read past issues of The Voice here.
Support the Consumer Voice While You Shop Online
.jpg)
|
