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June 4, 2024
In this Issue:
- Take Action: Tell Congress to Keep the Minimum Staffing Standard for Nursing Homes
- New Podcast Episode: A Resident Dialogue on Staffing
- World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15
- Resources and Promotional Products Available in Consumer Voice Store
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Take Action: Tell Congress to Keep the Minimum Staffing Standard for Nursing Homes
Nursing home residents need your help! In the coming days, Congress will be considering legislation and a joint resolution that would prevent the implementation of the recently issued minimum staffing standard in nursing homes. This extreme legislation would not only prevent the implementation of this rule, but would permanently bar the federal government from ever issuing a rule requiring safe staffing in nursing homes.
 Ever since the staffing rule was proposed by the Biden Administration, the nursing home industry has been spending millions of dollars to oppose its implementation. They are not giving up.
The final rule issued by the Biden Administration is a modest staffing standard, that would affect mostly the worst homes in the United States. The rule is targeted at those homes that provide the least amount of care. Additionally, the rule requires that there be increased transparency in Medicaid spending and that nursing homes use evidence-based, data-driven methods to assess the needs of their residents. The extreme legislation in Congress would stop these needed reforms and also prevent the federal government from ever issuing a similar rule.
Stand with nursing home residents and workers and tell your members of Congress to reject any efforts to prevent the implementation of the minimum staffing rule in nursing homes.
Do you represent an organization? Sign onto our letter.
Organizations are invited to join us in sending a letter to Congressional leaders telling them to stand with nursing home residents and nursing home workers and reject any attempts to derail the final rule. The deadline to sign is Friday, June 7.
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New Podcast Episode: A Resident Dialogue on Staffing
 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) new minimum staffing standard requires facilities to provide 3.48 hours of care per resident per day. That translates into three hours and 29 minutes of care over 24 hours for each resident. This number is lower than what Consumer Voice and other consumer advocates, nursing professionals, and nursing home residents have been advocating for, for years. This number is lower than what studies have shown, for decades, will keep nursing home residents safe, but it will still raise staffing levels at many facilities.
In a new episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care Podcast, you will hear an important conversation, which originally aired as a Facebook Live during our Resident Advocacy Week, between four nursing home residents about their personal experiences with understaffing, their thoughts on the new minimum staffing standard released by CMS, and their plans for advocating for themselves and others moving forward. The residents in this conversation are all part of Consumer Voice’s Consumer Advisory Council and we are grateful they made the time to share their thoughts with us.
Listen to the podcast.
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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15
 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is almost here. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. Visit WEAAD's website for tools and materials including ideas for events, social media and outreach guides, fact sheets and more. Spread the word about the importance of elder justice and use WEAAD as an opportunity to spark meaningful conversations.
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Resources and Promotional Products Available in Consumer Voice Store
Shop Consumer Voice's store for printed resources, materials for Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs, and products promoting residents' rights.
 Residents' Rights Playing Cards ($8 plus shipping)
Learn about residents' rights while playing cards! Each card highlights a different residents' right. The back of the cards features colorful artwork created by rolling wheelchairs through paint in order to represent how residents move through their facility, designed by residents in Lanai City, Hawaii.
 Routine Access Visit Pocket Guide - Pack of 50 ($100 plus shipping)
Routine access visits are critical to ensuring regular and timely resident access to Long-Term Care Ombudsman program services. This pocket guide describes a variety of activities that would constitute a routine access visit. The guide also provides a checklist to ensure routine access visit activities are conducted as well as warning signs and red flags of potential abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation.
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