Long-Term Care Residents Honored During Residents’ Rights Month

October 2020

Across the country, residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities along with family members, ombudsmen, citizen advocates, facility staff and others will honor the individual rights of long-term care residents by celebrating Residents’ Rights Month. Residents’ Rights Month isan annual event held in October by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (Consumer Voice) to celebrate and focus on awareness of dignity, respect and the value of long-term care residents. 

The theme for Residents' Rights Month 2020 is, “Connection Matters”– to emphasize connections – to family, to friends, and to the community – as an essential component of good health and quality of life for residents.. 

“The months of restrictions on visitation in long-term care facilities and the inability of residents, families, and friends to be together during the coronavirus pandemic has emphasized the importance of connection, of relationships, and the impact they have on all of our well-being,” said Lori Smetanka, Executive Director of the Consumer Voice.

Several residents and Pennsylvania Empowered Expert Residents (PEERS) from the B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging area, have submitted entries into the national Resident Rights Voice Challenge. A Pennsylvania statewide Virtual Resident Rights Bingo is planned for PEER members later in October.

The Nursing Home Reform Law, passed in 1987, guarantees nursing home residents their individual rights, including but not limited to: individualized care, respect, dignity, the right to visitation, the right to privacy, the right to complain, and the right to make independent choices. Residents who have made their home in other types of facilities.

Personal Care Home and Assisted Living residents maintain their rights as U.S. Citizens. Residents’ Rights Month raises awareness about these rights and pays tribute to the unique contributions of long-term residents.

The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program has worked for more than 40 years to promote residents’ rights daily. More than 8,000 volunteers and 1,000 paid staff are advocates for residents in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

 Authorized under the Older Americans Act and administered by the Administration on Aging, the program also provides information on how to find a facility, conducts community education sessions, and supports residents, their families and the public with one-on-one consultation regarding long-term care.  

To learn more about the local Ombudsman program or to become a volunteer, please contact local staff Ombudsman at 1-800-982–4346.