January 2026 What’s New? Behind Closed Doors: Understanding the Resident Experience The National Consumer Voice published the findings of their 2025 Resident Survey in a new report on resident experiences. More than 450 residents responded and shared their perspective! Much like the Kentucky State Ombudsman Program’s Resident Forum Report from 2024, their findings show many […]
Category Archives: News
December 2025 What’s New? CMS Rescinds Nursing Home Staffing Protections CMS issued an interim final rule rescinding part of the minimum staffing rule in nursing homes. CMS cited Congress’s postponement of the rule’s implementation until 2035 and two federal court cases that found parts of the rule to be invalid as reasons for the rule’s rescission. The […]
Residents’ Rights Month 2025 Was a Success! This special edition newsletter highlights events and activities that were held to celebrate Residents’ Right Month 2025. Long-Term Care Ombudsmen in 7 Districts held resident forums to elevate the resident voice and to celebrate residents exercising their rights without fear of retaliation. 107 residents attended from 39 nursing […]
November 2025 What’s New? Long-Term Care Ombudsmen Visit Congress Pictured above are Alice Rearick (Bluegrass District LTC Ombudsman), Mandy Weston (Lake Cumberland District LTC Ombudsman), Michael Callan (State LTC Ombudsman Program General Counsel), Sherry Culp (State LTC Ombudsman), Denise Wells (NHOA Executive Director), Jodi Holsclaw (Assistant State LTC Ombudsman), Erika Rhodes-Chism (KIPDA District LTC Ombudsman […]
October 2025 What’s New? 2023 Annual Report of the Kentucky Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program The 2023 Annual Report of the Kentucky Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is complete. Our Office serves as an independent advocacy service for individuals living in Kentucky’s long-term care (LTC) facilities. Long-term care ombudsmen, […]
September 2025 What’s New? Residents’ Rights October is Residents’ Rights Month, this year’s theme, Stand with Me, highlights the importance of solidarity and support for residents who stand up and advocate for their rights, as well as the value of encouraging the community to join residents in sharing their voices. Learn more about Residents’ Rights Month Pictured […]
August 2025 What’s New? According to the Kentucky Department of Public Health COVID-19 activity is increasing but remains low. Check out the department’s Respiratory Viruses webpage as we move into fall and winter and learn more about COVID-19, flu and RSV. Personal Needs Allowance for Nursing Facility Residents Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) is a monthly sum […]
July 2025 What’s New? INVOLUNTARY Involuntary, a short film documenting the impact of involuntary discharges on nursing home residents, focuses on Carlton, a man in his 70s suffering from dementia, who is moved from a nursing home in the middle of the night. Involuntary and inappropriate discharges from nursing homes have long plagued […]
June 2025 What’s New? Study Proposes Using Nursing Home Case-Mix to Lead Staffing Decisions A study led by University of California researcher Charlene Harrington and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society proposed using a nursing home’s case-mix index as a way to set expected daily nurse staffing levels. Under the Patient Driven Payment Model, the […]
May 2025 What’s New? The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program: Vital Resident-Directed Advocacy In April of this year, a budget passback from the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) proposed to cut $40 billion from the DHHS 2026 budget. Each year, government agencies submit their proposed budget to […]