In this conversation with Consumer Voice learn about how residents, families, and advocates can use guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to facilitate in-person visitation. While the new guidance expands visitation, many residents and families still have questions and concerns. After providing a brief overview of the CMS guidance, we discuss several of the most common issues, including strategies and tips for applying the guidance to help open nursing home doors. This conversation also covers the recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that limits when residents should be quarantined.

When the needs of residents living with dementia are met, incidences of resident stress are significantly reduced. Practicing person-centered approaches and interventions increase the likelihood that the message being communicated by the resident will be heard and addressed, leading to better outcomes and more satisfaction for the individual. Join our conversation with Dr. Jonathan Evans as we talk about caring for human beings with dementia.

On March 13, 2021, it will be one year since the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an order preventing everyone but essential healthcare workers from entering facilities. To date, despite some loosening of visitation restrictions, tens of thousands of residents have still not seen their families and loved ones in person. Chronic short-staffing of nursing homes that plagued facilities before the pandemic has gotten worse, with almost 1 in 5 facilities reporting staff shortages in aides. As a result, the lockdown has resulted in many residents suffering from isolation and neglect. In late 2020, The Consumer Voice conducted an informal survey of families that had visited with their loved ones to learn how the lockdown has impacted residents' condition. The overwhelming response was that families met residents who had experienced significant declines in their physical and mental health. In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, Sam Brooks and Lori Smetanka of Consumer Voice will discuss the survey results and Consumer Voice’s call to safely reopen facilities so that families can provide necessary care and support to residents.

In March of 2020, as COVID-19 was spreading through nursing homes at alarming rates, nursing home doors were closed to outside visitors, keeping out families, friends and other members of the community. At the same time, most residents were required to stay in their rooms, doors often shut, having little contact with others. A survey of nursing home residents by Altarum provides a look at the impact of these restrictions on those living in the facilities, and the toll it has taken on their physical and emotional health. This discussion features Anne Montgomery and Sarah Slocum, Co-Directors of Eldercare Improvement at Altarum.

Residents of nursing homes have rights that are guaranteed by the federal Nursing Home Reform Law. The law requires nursing homes to “promote and protect the rights of each resident” and stresses individual dignity and self-determination. A person living in a long-term care facility maintains the same rights as an individual in the larger community. Under the federal Older Americans Act (OAA) every state is required to have an Ombudsman Program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. Ombudsman programs help residents, family members, and others understand residents’ rights and support residents in exercising their rights guaranteed by law. Most nursing homes participate in Medicare and Medicaid, and therefore must meet federal requirements, including facility responsibilities and residents’ rights. Join us for a conversation with Beverley Laubert, Ohio State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and Patty Ducayet, Texas State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, to discuss resident rights, the role of the Ombudsman program, and how residents can advocate for their rights in their facility.

Too often, caregivers are ill-equipped to address the needs of persons living with dementia, especially those related to behavioral health. In this episode we are sharing with you a presentation held at the 2020 Consumer Voice Virtual Conference. Listen as we explore strategies, effective treatments, and support for residents and families who often need help understanding their rights and how to get good care. The speakers of this presentation are Kelly Bagby of AARP Foundation and Sue Renz, Practice Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. To view the slides mentioned in the presentation visit theconsumervoice.org/pursingquality.

Everyone living in a long-term care facility deserves good care that meets their needs and takes into account their likes, dislikes, preferences, and goals. But what does that mean? And how do we achieve it? Today we're talking with Sonya Barsness, a Masters-prepared Gerontologist, about a philosophy that honors the needs, preferences, and goals of elders by emphasizing choice, self-determination, relationships, purposeful living and other similar values.

Even before COVID-19, families have played a key role in advocating for their loved ones in nursing homes. Many family's jobs got harder when facilities shut down visitation in March, but even as visitation slowly opens back up, many are still struggling with how best to advocate for their family members. Something that is important to remember is that, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, residents still retain almost all the rights they’ve always had, including and importantly their right to expect and receive quality individualized care. The right to person-centered care is more important than ever right now, but for families, ensuring that their loved ones are receiving a high level of care during the pandemic, can sometimes be difficult. In this episode we’re talking with Robyn Grant, Director of Public Policy at Consumer Voice, about how families can advocate for their loved ones and for all residents, both on the local level and nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted residents of long-term care facilities and their families. In March, the federal government and most state governments ordered long-term care facilities – nursing homes and assisted living facilities – to ban all but essential healthcare workers from entering the facility. That has meant no access to family members, friends, the long-term care Ombudsman, or anyone else. Limited in-person visits are beginning in most states, marking the first time many residents and families have seen each other in more than 6 months. As you look to understand what the impact of this lock down has meant for your loved one, listen in for suggestions of what to look for, questions to ask, and what you can do if you have concerns about your loved one’s condition.

Every resident in long-term care is entitled to quality, individualized care. But what does quality care look like? What are the warning signs of poor care? What red flags should you be looking for in a facility? And what can you do when you see them? Join us for a conversation with Eden Ruiz-Lopez, Assistant Deputy Director at the National Center on Elder Abuse, as we discuss putting a stop to poor care and how to advocate for the quality care guaranteed to all residents under federal and state law.