Across the country, residents of nursing homes and other long term care facilities along with family members, ombudsman, citizen advocates, facility staff and others will honor the individual rights of long-term care residents by celebrating Residents’ Rights Month. This annual event is held every 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 this year for 2015 is “CARE Matters” with a goal of highlighting quality care.

“The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law guarantees the rights of all residents. These rights include the right to participate in one’s own care, the right to make independent choices, and the rights to dignity, respect and freedom, among other important rights that emphasize quality care,” said Richard Gelula, Executive Director of Consumer Voice.  This law gives residents the right to not only dignity, respect, and freedom, but also the right to visitation, privacy, complaining, and to make independent choices.  Residents’ Rights Month raises awareness about these rights and pays tribute to the unique contributions of long term care residents.

Along with the laws put in place for residents’ of long term care facilities, The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program has worked for more than 30 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 Administration on Aging, the program also provides information on how to find a facility, conducts community education sessions, and supports residents and their families.

For more information on our local Ombudsman program or other programs, please call the B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Inc. at 1-800-982-4346.

The B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Inc. is funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging; the United Way of Bradford County; the United Way of Susquehanna County; and the Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga County Commissioners.