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 and assisted living facilities.

District LTC Ombudsman Programs also participated in 50 community education events, 39 training events, and 37 Resident and Family Councils to raise awareness during the month of October.

Residents, staff, family members, and Long-Term Care Ombudsman program representatives worked together to promote quality of care and quality of life for residents.This year’s theme for Residents’ Rights Month was Stand with Me.

The theme brought attention to 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. The goal of the theme was to foster an environment where residents and the community can lean on each other for support when faced with challenges in long-term care, adapt to change, and grow stronger together.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Standing Together: District LTCO Programs Highlighted Residents Across the Commonwealth

The Pennyrile District LTC Ombudsman Program kicked off Residents’ Rights Month with Brandon Wood, Regional Ombudsman from the Office of State LTC Ombudsman, presenting on Resident Rights at the Pennyrile Health & Family Services meeting.

The Big Sandy District LTC Ombudsman Program held two Residents’ Rights forums. Pictured above are attendees at the forum held on the evening of October 2. Certified LTC Ombudsman Kennith Johnson facilitated the resident discussion.

The Big Sandy also celebrated Residents’ Rights Month on the big screen. The ad above played the entire month of October at cinemas.

The Northern KY District LTC Ombudsman Program held a Residents’ Rights forum. Pictured are facilitator District LTC Ombudsman Bethany Beckel and residents of Northern Kentucky. Thank you to Representative Kim Banta for attending.

The Lincoln Trail District LTC Ombudsman Program held a Residents’ Rights forum. Residents joined in person and virtually. Pictured above are forum attendees.

Certified LTC Ombudsman Jamie Barnes facilitated the forum.

The Kentucky River District LTC Ombudsman Program held a Residents’ Rights forum. Residents are pictured sharing their voice. District Ombudsman Sheila Cornett facilitated the resident discussion at the forum.

The Bluegrass LTC Ombudsman Program welcomed award-winning film makers, Chris Knoblock and Dana White (pictured above, left) to Kentucky for a viewing and discussion of their new short film, Involuntary.

Involuntary follows Carlton, a man in his 70’s suffering from dementia, who is discharged from his nursing home in the middle of the night. The film’s storyline centers around elder abuse, elder care, and the egregious, ongoing practice of patient dumping (the “dumping” of vulnerable older adults to homeless shelters, bus stops, and sometimes the street from hospitals and nursing homes).

Following the short film, NHOA’s Executive Director, Denise Wells (pictured above, center), facilitated a conversation between the audience and film makers.

Pictured above are District LTC Ombudsman Andrew Law, Regional LTC Ombudsman Brandon Wood and resident Bernadette Wear.

The Green River District LTC Ombudsman Program held a Residents’ Rights forum. Residents shared their experiences while enjoying lunch at the Area Development District.

The KIPDA District LTC Ombudsman Program held a Residents’ Rights forum. Pictured above are attendees.

Ombudsman Jamie Barnes facilitated and began by saying,”As ombudsmen we are amplifiers, and we are hoping you in the audience can listen to these stories and use what you hear to effect change.”

The Buffalo Trace District LTC Ombudsman Program held their third resident forum since 2023. Many residents were in attendance and some chose to take the stage to share their voice.

Residents discussed the importance of the Medicaid program, mental health services, and the need for an increase in Personal Needs Allowance as well as other services.

Quotes from Residents

Standing by residents involves amplifying their voices. Read about the experience of residents in their own words below.

Please consider how you can support people who are living in long-term care facilities. Go visit your friends and family who live in long-term care, talk with policy makers about what is important to you when you think about quality of life and quality of care in long-term care, and apply to be a volunteer ombudsman!

You can also make a donation to support our events. October 2026 is just 11 months away, and planning has already begun! Your gift will be used to support the Resident Forums across the Commonwealth.

Can you give us an example of a time when someone stood by you?

Yes, You (the ombudsman) personally came to me and talked with me. Then you came back to check on me and see how it was going after we had a meeting to work out my problem.

One of our aides was deported and we have no idea where she is. She is good and we were good friends. She always made me laugh. The day she left she cried in my arms. It made me angry- she had been in this country for 10 years. She never had issues – she came to this county to escape what was going on in her country. It made me angrier than anything else.

What do you love about your community?

This [participating in the forum]. Doing things like this together as a community.

The Activities Director helped me over some big humps. I was afraid.

Being like a family. They don’t come immediately when I call , but they will come. The staff are amazing. They asked if I wanted anything and I said snow angels, so when it snowed they went outside and made snow angels for me.

Activities. A lot of activities. We’ve had a lot of illness lately. Lock downs make it hard to have activities because people are behind closed doors, but I keep going.

It doesn’t smell. My family was shocked the nursing home didn’t smell. It made me feel so good it didn’t smell.

When there is a feeling of being included and like I’m part of a family. That is the best part of living in a facility.

My roommate is my best friend now and I don’t ever want to go back home. I have found happiness here.

The thing I get so upset about is I go into the activities room, and they have coloring books that come out of kindergarten. They are dumbing people down.

What time of day do you feel like your needs are met the most?

In the evening a certain aide pops in and checks on us. When she is there she really takes care of us. She’ll make popcorn for us and do little special things for us.

Living in a nursing home can get you down, but I’m a lucky one. I get out three times a week for an hour and a half. The support of family and friends really helps me. People calling and checking on me really helps.

Biggest problem is aides who come in and turn off the call light and then don’t come back. I tell them, “Don’t’ touch that light.” I call my facility Liar’s Ridge.

I have a friend who puts her light on pretty often. I slipped and fell in her room and hit my head and put her light on and it took an hour for someone to come. They said, “Karen if I had known it was you, I would have come right away.” They say my friend puts her light on too much.

Do you feel independent?

We can volunteer to teach a class or lead a group at my nursing home. It makes me feel good and keeps my mind going.

I was a nurse for 38 years. Now I see it from the other side.

My number is 15. It means I can do for myself.

(The resident was referencing his BIMS or Brief Interview for Mental Status score. Scores range from 0 to 15. Lower scores can point to difficulties with memory or cognitive skills.)

Retaliation. The aids, the food workers – I depend on them for my care. I can’t piss them off.

Is staffing an issue?

My roommate is blind with one leg. She needs the bedpan and cries, and no one comes. This morning I had to put her on the bedpan myself.

I don’t like that they keep sending nurses home because they say there are too many clocked in.

The new company that took over is lax about cell phone use. They have phone on their ears and they come into your room talking to someone else. It’s very frustrating to have someone not give you their full attention. They make you feel like they don’t care.

I hear people in their rooms yelling at night over and over. This didn’t use to happen. It’s got to be money.

We had 28 people quitting who didn’t want to work with this director. I want someone to stick their head in and see what we see.

I want to compliment our staff sitting here now. It’s all about people. Having people who care about you – Kyle and Luke who are sitting there they are two guys who go above and beyond.

Do you feel like your voice is heard?

When you go into a nursing home something on your body is hurting or needs to heal. The ideal situation is that you get better and can go back home – but sometimes that isn’t the case. You have to make the best of your given situation and surroundings. I feel that I want to be there, and feel everyone wants to help me and hears my voice when I speak.

They were not getting us up and out of bed or providing activities until a church group came in and did it.

I was 3 years as Resident Council president. The ombudsman told me how it’s supposed to be done and I made sure staff followed up on every complaint and told us what they did to fix it. They make decisions that affect us and don’t care here but I’m heard loudly. You screw with these residents you screw with me.

Our administrator we used to have didn’t respect us or respect staff.

What is one thing staff and the community can do to support you?

They had an art show just for me!

A church does ice cream socials for us and they even came and had Christmas in July.

Helping me get outside so I can sit in the sun.

I’m the family member of a bed bound resident and the facility moved his bed around so he can see people now and he loves that.

Is there anything you would change about your facility?

The same problems keep coming up. They are always running out of medication. They know there are ways to avoid that, but it keeps happening.

My mother taught me to be patient. I am the former Resident Council president. We have residents who are scared to death that they won’t ever see anyone again who cares about them. To be the Resident Council president – they become my residents. Don’t’ mess with my people or I will mess with you. I have so much I wanted to do something where you have the director of the corporation come in and be a resident for a week. You lay in my bed and watch my call light go off for 3 hours. I would love to see corporate people be humiliated the way we are. We weren’t born in a nursing home, we had families, we had jobs, kids, grandkids. Our lives aren’t that different. My half of a room costs 12K a month. There are apartments that are a quarter of that a month. If I am paying you that much money – why can’t I get good food and enough help to keep me clean.

Residents discussed the monthly allowance residents on Medicaid are allowed after paying their facility bill. For some it is $60 while others receive less. Most agreed that it wasn’t enough and described their monthly personal expenses.

I buy cokes, life insurance, have computer expenses, and a cell phone.

I only get $30 and I have life insurance premiums and need haircuts.

If you have family you want money to buy them greeting cards for their birthdays and a gift.

I can’t buy anyone a Christmas gift.

What helps you feel at home?

It feels more like home with things surround you from your former home. It feels good when you have pictures you remember on the wall and special decorations that have meant a lot to me.

It makes me feel more at home having good workers to help me and getting to know other residents.

October Proclaimed Residents’ Rights Month

Thank you to Governor Beshear and Secretary of State Michael G. Adams for proclaiming October Residents’ Rights Month.

Residents from across the country share their artistic expression during Rights Month

Thank you to the National Consumer Voice for leading the way!

In 1981, the same year the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency was incorporated in Kentucky, the Consumer Voice hosted residents at a national conference in Washington, DC. Nursing home residents in attendance determined the need for time set aside to celebrate residents and their rights. Consumer Voice organized a successful petition drive to persuade Congress to designate a “Residents’ Rights Day.” Senator Claude Pepper and Senator David Pryor responded by introducing a Congressional Resolution for that purpose. Consumer Voice was also successful in making arrangements to take five nursing home residents to the White House to meet with President Jimmy Carter’s Special Counselor on Aging, Dr. Harold Sheppard.