Across the country, residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities along with family members, ombudsmen, citizen advocates, facility staff, and others will honor the individual rights of long-term care residents by celebrating Residents’ Rights Week October 4-10, 2009. Designated by NCCNHR – The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care – the week highlights the importance of listening to residents who live in our country’s nursing homes, assisted living, and board and care facilities.

“This year’s theme, Hear Our Voice, emphasizes the fundamental rights of all long-term residents to be treated with the appropriate care they deserve and need to maintain quality of life,” said Sarah F. Wells, Executive Director of NCCNHR. “Residents will be treated with dignity and respect of their full individuality; staff and residents will enjoy relationships that enhance their day to day lives; and the long-term care facility will operate more effectively with its day to day activities being based on and developed with consumer involvement when facilities care about their residents.”

Many people care about residents – family members, citizen advocates, ombudsmen, facility staff, and other visitors. This care can be truly individualized and focused on each person’s needs and preferences.

In 1987, the Nursing Home Reform Law that was passed guarantees nursing home residents their individual rights, including but not limited to: individualized care, respect, dignity, the right to visitation, the right to privacy, the right to complain, and the right to make independent choices. Residents who have made their home in other types of facilities, assisted living, and adult care homes maintain their rights as U.S. Citizens. Residents’ Rights Week raises awareness about these rights and pays tribute to the unique contributions of long-term residents.

The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program has worked tirelessly for over 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 the Administration on Aging, the program also provides information on how to find a facility, conducts community education sessions, and supports residents, their families and the public with one-on-one consultation regarding long-term care.

To contact Davis County’s ombudsman call 801-451-3231 or e-mail Kim Cannon at kcannon@daviscountyutah.gov.

“Residents’ Rights Week is an excellent opportunity to re-affirm our collective commitment to residents’ rights and to honor long-term care residents. We strongly encourage the community to participate in Residents’ Rights Week activities and to visit residents who continue to be important to our communities and society,” Wells said.