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July 5, 2022

In this Issue:

  1. CMS Issues New Guidance and Training for Nursing Home Surveyors
  2. Residents Invited to Participate in This Year's Resident's Voice Challenge by September 1
  3. Materials Available from TA Talk on Investigating Complaints Involving Allegations of Abuse
  4. Let Us Know If You've Scheduled a Visit with Your Members of Congress to Discuss Nursing Home Reforms

CMS Issues New Guidance and Training for Nursing Home Surveyors

On June 29, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued long-awaited guidance to state survey agencies. In 2016, CMS revised the Requirements for Participation for Long-Term Care Facilities. These revisions were to be implemented in three phases. Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS is just now releasing revisions to the Phase 2 guidance along with the new Phase 3 guidance.
 
The newly released guidance (QSO-22-19-NH) provides direction to surveyors in a variety of areas, including:

  • Abuse and neglect investigations;
  • Admission, transfer, and discharge rights;
  • Mental health and substance abuse disorders;
  • The inappropriate diagnosis of schizophrenia;
  • The use of certain medications;
  • Infection control;
  • Arbitration agreements;
  • Revisions to the complaint investigation process; and
  • Revisions to the Psychosocial Outcome Severity Guide.

In addition to the new guidance, CMS issued new training resources for state surveyor agencies.

The new guidance will go into effect on October 24, 2022.

In the coming days, Consumer Voice will be releasing more detailed information on the new guidance, including a summary and analysis.

Residents Invited to Participate in This Year's Resident's Voice Challenge by September 1

RRM2022_RGB.pngResidents in long-term care facilities are invited to participate in the 2022 Resident's Voice Challenge.  Creative writing and artistic expression are meaningful and compelling ways to highlight the importance of residents’ rights and how these rights can be carried out in all long-term care settings.  In preparation for Residents' Rights Month in October, residents are invited to reflect on this year's theme, Inspiring Unity within Our Community, in th form of essays, poems, artwork, drawings or videos.

This year’s theme emphasizes the importance of fostering a meaningful community within the facility and encouraging residents’ connection to their local community. So, we are inviting groups of residents to create a shared poster reflecting the theme.

Visit our website for more information on the poster challenge and for prompt questions to which residents are invited to respond.

Submissions are due September 1, 2022.

Materials Available from TA Talk on Investigating Complaints Involving Allegations of Abuse

Materials are available from the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC)'s quarterly Technical Assistance (TA) Talk on investigating complaints involving allegations of abuse. NORC provides daily in-depth technical assistance, consultation, information, and referral for Ombudsman programs. To increase direct access to TA and peer support, NORC hosts quarterly live technical assistance dialogues. Thanks to speakers, Beverley Laubert, National Ombudsman Program Coordinator, Administration for Community Living; Dale Watson, South Carolina State Long-Term Care Ombudsman; and Jessica Winters, Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman, South Carolina.

Get the recording and materials.

Let Us Know If You've Scheduled a Visit with Your Members of Congress to Discuss Nursing Home Reforms

Set up a visitIf you have not already, now is a great time to schedule a face-to-face visit with your elected officals (or their staff) to discuss reforms in nursing homes.  Members of Congress are returning to their home districts; you can set up a visit locally with them at their district office. 

We've provided several resources to make scheduling and preparing for these visits easy:

  1. How to Schedule a Visit
  2. What to Expect and How to Prepare for the Visit

Plus, find more resources in our Advocacy Toolkit.

We want you to feel empowered to make your voice heard!

If you have already scheduled your visits, let us know! Email info@theconsumervoice.org.

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