Call for action: Advocating to improve quality of care and life for persons who live in nursing homes
Staff Attorney Erin Killian and I had the pleasure of attending the 47th Annual Conference of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care October 31-November 1 in Baltimore, Maryland.
This conference brings together long-term care ombudsmen, persons living in nursing homes, family and other advocates from across the country to connect, learn best practices and gain new skills to utilize in our collective goal to ensure every older adult and person with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity and have access to quality long term services and supports. I had the pleasure of presenting on “Local and State LTCOP Approaches to Addressing Involuntary Transfer/Discharge” at the conference alongside New York State Ombudsman Claudette Royal and New York State Region 15 LTCOP Director Susan Fenster, whereby we provided training and tips to ombudsmen nationwide to address this harmful practice.[i]
The theme of the conference was “Amplify Your Advocacy” and attendees learned about the various efforts underway at the federal level to improve access to quality long-term services and supports from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Administration on Aging/Administration for Community Living, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Attendees also had the opportunity to experience advocacy through film. On day one of the conference, we met the filmmakers of, and watched a sizzle for the upcoming documentary No Country for Old People[ii], a film that chronicles the last 6 months of the filmmaker mother’s life and how the long-term care system puts profits over people. On day two, we watched clips of the film Fire Through Dry Grass[iii] and had the honor to directly hear from the filmmakers, who are residents of Coler Nursing Home, and described their experiences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic and the creation of the film.
Both films are a “must watch” for every person in society. For too long older adults have been subject to abuse and neglect in nursing homes. It is time older adults, their families, caregivers, and their advocates speak up and demand change. In October 2022, President Biden announced new steps[iv] to improve quality of nursing homes, including that proposed minimum staffing requirements would be released by CMS. CMS released these proposed requirements on September 6, 2023. CMS proposes the following:
- 24 hour per day RN coverage;
- 3.0 total nursing hours per resident day (hprd);
- 0.55 RN hprd;
- 2.45 nursing assistant hprd.
- 0 LPN requirements
With the exception of the 24/7 proposed RN requirement, these minimums are too low and ignore decades of research and resident experiences.
We strongly urge residents, their families, friends and supporters to submit comment to CMS on the need to have strong minimum requirements and share personal experiences of why staffing must be sufficient to ensure each resident receives safe and quality care. The comment period closes Monday November 6 at 11:59pm. To comment on the rule, please visit: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CMS-2023-0144-0001
The National Consumer Voice and the Long Term Care Community Coalition have both shared information on how to comment and best practices:
Together, we can empower older adults and change communities.
[i] For more information on your rights as a nursing home resident, please visit https://www.elderjusticeny.org/elder-law-learn.
[ii] No Country for Old People is in its final stages of production. The sizzle reel (which can be shared with others) is available at https://vimeo.com/877846513.
[iii] Fire Through Dry Grass is streaming on PBS and will be available until January 24, 2024, and available at https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/firethroughdrygrass/.
[iv] FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Steps to Improve Quality of Nursing Homes, Oct. 21, 2022, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/21/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-steps-to-improve-quality-of-nursing-homes/
