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TLC
in LTC of Illinois
An
Illinois Coalition of Family Members and Friends of Long-Term Care
Residents
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June 10, 2004
Invitation
to Families and the Public to Provide Testimony about Long Term
Facility Care
The Long Term
Care Facility Advisory Board will hold public forums, beginning
July 28, in Chicago to provide an opportunity for families of residents
and other concerned publics to testify. Any person can provide testimony
about long term care facilities and their ability to provide quality
care and a quality of life for residents and the Department of Public
Health's ability to handle complaints and ensure that federal and
state standards are met.
ICARE urges all who are interested in eliminating
neglect and abuse of residents in long term care facilities to testify
at one of these forums. For
more on these public forums, including the schedule, read the full
article.
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May 20, 2004
Is Your Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Able to Fully Protect
Residents?
A series of questions to evaluate a long term care ombudsman
program from a resident's perspective, called The
Effective Ombudsman Program, has been developed by
Margaret Niederer, Director of Special Projects for the Illinois
Retired Teachers Association Foundation. Dr. Niederer, formerly
a regional ombudsman for 10 years, now serves as a volunteer ombudsman
for the ICARE Ombudsman Program. The questions were developed
using the federal law and the Institute of Medicine's study of
the ombudsman program on essential practices for the program.
In order to be effective, the ombudsman program must provide a:
meaningful access of ombudsman services to residents, both through
individual resident advocacy and systems advocacy, which means
analyzing major problems in long term facility care and advocating
for changes in laws, regulations and policies at both the state
and federal levels of government.
If you have questions about your ombudsman program, contact your
state ombudsman. To find your state ombudsman, go to www.NCCNHR.org
and click on "Ombudsman," then on your state. If you have questions,
comments or concerns about this series of questions, e-mail Margaret
Niederer, at mniederer@icare.ws.
Read the paper: The
Effective Ombudsman Program: A Symphony of Advocacy
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TLC
in LTC (Tender Loving Care in Long-Term Care) is a coalition
of family members with loved ones in long-term care facilities
who recognize the critical need for a statewide advocacy group
to represent nursing home residents in Illinois.
We came together initially
as a very small group, but all had one thing in common-a loved
one in an Illinois nursing home. Stories, experiences-good
and bad, humorous and sad-were shared and the commonality,
mostly frustrations, came to the surface.
We believe that if consumers
do not unite across the State to resolve the ongoing issues
of lack of staff, lack of training for staff, and lack of
supervision of staff in nearly every nursing home in the State,
that care will not improve.
Families and friends
must come together to provide a voice and
to effect a safe, more consistent and higher quality of life
for nursing home and other long term care residents.
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Our Mission
To achieve
a quality of life for residents of long-term care facilities
that we would want for ourselves.
We propose to
accomplish this by working within and/or advocating for changes
to existing State and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines
governing the administration of nursing homes and other licensed
long term care facilities in the State of Illinois.
Read the full
mission statement.
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Learn more, Get Involved
Click
here to get membership information!
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Right now there is
no other group in Illinois with advocacy power that represents long-term
care residents and their families, and friends statewide. Consumers
deserve to have a voice in the laws, regulations, and decisions
of this state.
TLC in LTC has been
established as the beginning of a grassroots consumer coalition
effort.
As TLC in LTC begins
to recruit new members, we need everyone's help to identify families
and friends on a continuing basis. Let residents' families know
about the opportunity to ignite change in the long-term care system.
Please encourage as
many families and friends of residents as possible and have them
visit this site for more information. Or have them contact
us at the address or phone number below. Encourage family
councils to organize in any and all facilities that currently
do not have an active family council.
Existing family councils
are encouraged to join the statewide family coalition TLC in LTC.
Simply fill out our information form
and send it to us by traditional or electronic mail.
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What TLC in LTC does
TLC in LTC holds meetings in areas
across the state for families to learn about TLC in LTC and local
family councils.
Provide presentations, resources,
and support for family councils.
TLC in LTC provide support to convene
meetings for interested family members in regions of Illinois.
These family meetings address:
- Legislative
issues pertaining to the complaints and concerns of residents
and families
- The goals of TLC in LTC
- The need for new families to join
a family council in each facility
- Resources for establishing and
maintaining a family council
- Best
Practices by nursing home Pioneers
TLC in LTC distributes a newsletter
to its members. The newsletter
provides:
- Upcoming events
- Long-term care issues from across
Illinois and the nation
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What TLC in LTC's Goals Are
Establish a family
council in every nursing home and other long-term care facility
across Illinois. One member from each council should serve on a
regional TLC in LTC family council group.
Develop a legislative agenda to assure
quality care, a life of dignity, and other rights for nursing home
and long term care facility residents. Some legislative recommendations
suggested are:
- Assure a ratio of staff to residents
in the State based on their condition and care needs.
- Restrict increased Medicaid funding
to apply to increased wages and benefits for certified nursing
assistants (CNA's).
- Require nursing home administrators
to have more education.
- Require at least 30 percent of
the Department of Public Health's surveys to occur on weekends
and nights.
- Establish more stringent laws
and regulations regarding retaliation and offer residents and
families more recourse in the event that retaliation does occur.
- Assure that staff are properly
trained in how to handle certain behaviors, including those that
are the result of mental illness and dementia.
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Why TLC in LTC is Needed
Although there are citizens groups,
there is no long-term care consumer advocacy group in Illinois that
has statewide membership and gives residents a voice in the decisions
at the state level. Consumers, residents and families that nursing
homes serve, severely lack the influence that the nursing home associations
have on State Officials and Illinois Legislators.
We Need You!
TLC in LTC is in the beginning phase
of development and is currently focused on increasing membership
to constitute a working coalition. We hope that you will join us
in speaking for nursing home residents, many of whom are too frail
to speak. Become a member today and help make a difference in
the quality of life of your loved one who lives in a facility.
There are many families like yours who need support.
You can make a difference by providing
help, giving hope, and reaching out to those residents who need
family advocates.
Together we can make TLC in LTC a
strong statewide consumer organization.
Do not delay any longer! Become
a member of TLC in LTC today!
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The Importance
of Family Councils
TLC in LTC wants to encourage the
creation and and growth of family
councils in every nursing home and long term care facility.
Family councils
are able to work as a united group in igniting change in care.
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A
family council is an independent (self-led and self-determining)
group of families and friends of residents that together protect
and improve the quality of life for residents within a facility.
For family councils to function effectively and independently,
it is imperative that facility staff are not present at meetings.
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As the TLC in LTC coalition continues
its efforts to effect change on the statewide level, families can
take action at their loved one's local facility
Families need to know that they
are not alone. Most likely, if there are daily concerns of less
than adequate care, these are not isolated incidents. Often poor
care is a facility-wide and system-wide problem that multiple residents
and families experience. Family councils offer all families in a
facility the chance to work together with staff to address common
concerns. Family councils can be the key to assuring quality
care for your loved one!
When family councils
work, they benefit residents, families, facility staff, and facility
administrators.
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TLC in LTC
620 North Walnut Street
Springfield, IL 62702
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Phone: (217)
523-8419
Toll Free: (800) 842-8538
Fax: (217) 523-8493
E-mail: email@tlcinltc.org
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