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The Kentucky LTCO Program is a strong and unwavering advocate for LGBTQ residents living in long-term care.
Rights & LGBTQ Residents
– The right to be fully informed
– The right to choose your POA
– The right to make independent choices about what you wear and what you keep in your room
– The right to privacy, including visits with your partner
– The right to choose your roommate
– The right to privacy and confidentiality about your care
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The consumer guide can be downloaded here
Welcoming policies, practices and culture are all factors which should be considered when trying to find an inclusive and welcoming long-term care facility for LGBTQ+ elders. Learn how to properly screen facilities for these and other factors in a resource created by HRC Foundation and SAGE.
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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was celebrated on June 15th with a rally at the Kentucky Capitol building!
Regional Ombudsmen Jodi Karapandzic and Mark Burress were joined with many of the Commonwealth’s Certified Long-Term Care Ombudsmen to celebrate Governor Beshear’s proclamation of June 15th as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
In fact, Gateway District Long-Term Care Ombudsman Waynanne Caudill read the proclamation.
Thank you to all of Kentucky’s providers working to end elder abuse and make our Commonwealth a safe place to live.
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The Pennyrile Area Development District pledged their support for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, 2023, by wearing purple (see picture below). World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is celebrated every June 15 in attempts to provide awareness to this growing problem among our vulnerable adults.
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The Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS) is making additional ownership data including names of affiliated owners for the first time on Nursing Home Care Compare. Aggregate data on the safety, staffing, and quality for groups of nursing homes sharing ownership/operatorship is also now available on data.cms.gov, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing initiative to increase the transparency of corporate ownership and operation of nursing homes.
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This spring Consumer Voice released, “Where Do the Billions of Dollars Go? A Look At Nursing Home Related Party Transactions,” which documents how each year nursing homes funnel billions of dollars through related party companies (companies they own) with little to no oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The report provides a detailed look at related parties and how nursing homes potentially use them to hide how much money they are making and to give the illusion that their facilities are not profitable.
The report uses cost data submitted to the federal government by nursing homes to illustrate the industry-wide practice of related party transactions and how at the same time, residents face inadequate staffing and poor care. The report offers solutions to the lack of transparency and accountability for how nursing home dollars are spent.
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Major Supreme Court Victory for Nursing Home Residents’ Rights!
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Thursday, June 8, the United States Supreme Court delivered a victory to nursing home residents residing in state run (publicly owned) Medicaid-funded nursing facilities, by finding that these residents have a private right of action against a nursing home if it violates rights conferred upon residents by the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (FNHRA).
The family of Gorgi Talevski brought the lawsuit in federal court after serious issues arose when Mr. Talevski was admitted to an Indiana nursing home, Valparaiso Care and Rehabilitation (VCR). The complaint alleged that the facility illegally sedated Mr. Talevski with a variety of psychotropic drugs and then illegally discharged him from the facility. The Supreme Court held that FNHRA explicitly confers certain rights on nursing home residents, including the right to be free from chemical restraints and not to be subject to illegal discharge. In turn, these rights were found enforceable under Section 1983 of the United States Code, which provides citizens with a private right of action when a state deprives them of rights secured by the “Constitutions and laws.”
Click here read the full article published by the Consumer Voice.
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We are looking for volunteers!
Contact us for more information
Email or call 859-277-9215.
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What’s an Ombudsman?
Ombudsmen advocate for residents of long-term care facilities at no charge to residents or families.
Long-Term Care Ombudsmen
- Regularly make unannounced visits to long-term care facilities to visit residents.
- Protect the special legal rights of residents.
- Identify, investigate, and resolve residents’ problems and concerns.
- Empower residents to make informed choices.
- Work to monitor laws/policies to protect residents.
Long-term care ombudsmen serve residents in all counties in Kentucky. Visit our website!
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The Kentucky State LTC Ombudsman Program is housed within the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass.
The KLTCOP is funded in part by state and federal funding provided by the Department for Aging and Independent Living.
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