December 13, 2021 —“Advocacy Basics for Residents of Nursing Homes” and “Resident-Directed Care” will be the topics of two national conference calls available free to nursing home residents on Nov. 9 and Dec. 6, 2012, respectively.
Kendal System affiliates and the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care are sponsoring the teleconferences to create a forum for nursing home residents to speak with each other about issues directly affecting their lives.
Advocacy Basics for Residents of Nursing Homes (2 to 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 9) will provide a basic overview of residents’ rights under federal law, the role of the long-term care ombudsman, how to file a complaint and ways residents can be involved in advocacy for quality of care and life in a nursing home.
Resident-Directed Care (2 to 3 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Dec. 6) will provide basic information for residents looking to be their own health care advocate and will include information on individualized care planning and other ways residents can be involved as active participants in their health and care.
“These teleconferences will help give voice to the hopes and aspirations of people living in nursing homes nationwide,” says Cheryl Wade, Kendal’s Director for Philanthropy. “This initiative promises to reach a diverse and significant population of older people as part of our efforts to benefit the larger communities in which we are located.”
Residents are invited to join the calls on their own, or with a group of residents or their resident councils using speakerphones. Participation is limited and registration is first-come, first-served.
This is the second year that Kendal and Consumer Voice have jointly sponsored national teleconferences aimed at improving care for residents of skilled nursing facilities. In its first year, the call series engaged more than 300 residents in discussions about:
Breaking down Communication Barriers: Cultural Sensitivity and Verbal and Listening Strategies; Staffing for Quality Care: Important Elements and Resident Involvement; and Education and Empowerment for Fall Prevention.
With results and recommendations from the consultations posted on Consumer Voice’s website, the conference call series provided information and insights to far more than the 300 people who participated in the national teleconferences.
Kendal on Hudson, Kendal at Lexington, and Kendal-Crosslands Communities have joined Kendal Outreach and Kendal Charitable Funds as 2011 teleconference sponsors.
With communities and services for older adults in eight states, Kendal advocates for and empowers older adults to achieve their full potentials. Kendal communities are located on Chicago’s lakefront and in Hanover, N.H.; Ithaca and Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.; Northhampton and Easthampton, Mass.; Oberlin and Cleveland, Ohio; Lexington, Va.; metro Washington, D.C.; and Kennett Square and West Chester, Pa. For more information, visit discoverkendal.org.
Consumer Voice (formerly the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform) was established in 1975 as a response to public concern about substandard care in nursing homes.