Resident Council Center

Resident Council Center Information, Tips and Tools

Residents in a facility can join together to form a united consumer voice which can communicate concerns to facility administrators and work for resolutions and improvements by forming a resident council. Resident councils can play a crucial role in voicing concerns, requesting improvements, supporting new residents, and supporting facility efforts to make care and life in the facility the best it can be.  Join and support the resident council at your facility!  If no resident council exists, join with other residents to form one. This page contains information on NCCNHR Projects related to resident councils, resident council rights that are protected by federal law, regulations applying to long-term care facilities, effective council advocacy, and tools for forming an effective council. Curmet Forte, Resident Council Vice President, NCCNHR Board Member  If you have any questions about these materials, resident councils, or how to advocate for good care in a nursing home, please contact NCCNHR at 202.332.2275.   For best results in printing use PDF format. (PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat. Click Here to get Adobe Acrobat Reader for Free).

Resident Council Rights and Federal Laws & Regulations Resident Council Exchange Residents' Rights Fact Sheets Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs Learn and Take Action! NCCNHR's Resident Council Projects NCCNHR's Consumer Center Additional Resources

Resident Council Rights and Federal Laws & Regulations

Consumer Fact Sheet: The Rights of Resident Councils in Nursing Homes The following links connect you to what the federal law and regulations say about particular issues regarding long-term care. OBRA '87 (The Nursing Home Reform Law) 20th Anniversary Read a summary of OBRA '87, the full federal regulations, and the Medicaid and Medicare provisions.    BACK TO TOPICS

Resident Council Exchange

If you would like to share resident councils materials with us, and possibly other councils across the country, please send them to jbrill@nccnhr.org. Possible materials to share include a sample council flier, sample bylaws, or sample minutes. BACK TO TOPICS

Residents' Rights

Residents' Rights Week 2008: October 5-11! Recipe for Home: defining and creating home in long-term care facilities Residents' Rights Week is the first full week of October each year. Visit the links below for consumer information and resources that can help you support an individual resident's rights or be involved in an important national awareness campaign. •  Fact Sheet - Residents' Rights: An Overview   •  Residents' Rights Week 2007: "Advancing Excellence: A Resident's Perspective on Quality" BACK TO TOPICS

Fact Sheets

Find consumer-friendly information on issues affecting residents such as residents' rights, malnutrition, the use of restraints, and changing the culture of long-term care facilities. Maryland: Tips for the First Weeks in a Nursing Home Maryland: Sugerencias y Información para las Primeras Semanas en el Asilo de Ancianos (en Español) BACK TO TOPICS

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs

Find contact information for the long-term care ombudsman program in your state.  In addition to acting as an advocate for residents, ombudsmen can educate residents, families and friends about resident rights, state surveys, and federal and state laws that are applicable to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.   BACK TO TOPICS

Learn and Take Action!

Improve long-term care in your area, and across the U.S.! Visit NCCNHR's Action Center: View up-to-date information on Congressional Hearings, Bulletins, Legislative Proposals, etc. Learn and advocate for restraint free care as part of NCCNHR's California California Voices for Quality: Strategies in the National Campaign for Excellence in America's Nursing Homes project: The project provides information and tools to train ombudsmen to engage consumers in quality improvement, by educating and engaging consumers to advance better quality care in nursing homes. Consumer-oriented materials, including fact sheets, have been developed; training programs and educational conference calls were held; and materials are posted on the website.  Advocate Effectively: Read a list of suggestions for advocacy tips as you advocate for yourself, including how to document concerns.  Contact the long-term care ombudsman program in your state: In addition to acting as an advocate for residents, ombudsmen can educate residents, families and friends about resident rights, state surveys, and federal and state laws that are applicable to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.  Participate in the in the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign: NCCNHR encourages all consumers to participate in this national campaign. This is an opportunity to promote quality care practices in every nursing home in the country. Learn more about NCCNHR's involvement in the Campaign, and ways you can get involved!   Visit NCCNHR's Government Policy website: Learn about staffing issues, view an action center, etc. Visit NCCNHR's Culture Change website: Learn about the grassroots movement to transform the culture of aging in America. Also visit the Pioneer Network's website. Visit the Nursing Home Compare website: This is a tool on the Medicare website that displays quality measure data, deficiencies and other information about nursing homes. It is organized by state and county to help you search for facilities near you or anywhere in the country.   BACK TO TOPICS

NCCNHR Resident Council Projects

Learn more about NCCNHR projects related to family members and family councils. NCCNHR's Giving Voice to Quality project: The project trained nursing home residents and their families nationwide through: a series of six teleconference seminars during 2006; a web-based consumer education center and the development and electronic distribution of materials to seminar participants. Calls are available on CD for purchase, and address the following topics: Resident-Directed Care Planning; Restraint-Free Nursing Home Care; Residents' Rights; Communication; Eating with Dignity; Incontinence and Quality Care. BACK TO TOPICS

NCCNHR's Consumer Center

Visit NCCNHR's Consumer Center for more information, including information on the following topics: Residents, Family Members and Councils Residents' Rights Fact Sheets Federal Law and Regulations Making a Difference: Learn, Take Action, and Advocate! NCCNHR Publications The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program    BACK TO TOPICS

Additional Resources

Atlanta Legal Aid Society - Resident Councils in Nursing Homes NCCNHR Publications Resident Councils of Washington Note: RCW's Resident Council Handbook is available for purchase: http://www.residentcouncilstore.org/ Resident Council Additional Resources List BACK TO TOPICS