October 2024
OBSERVING RESIDENTS' RIGHTS MONTH: Knowledge is Power
So you are cozy and content in a single room that you managed to turn into a home for yourself. But nursing home staff members show up one morning and say you have to move to a double room with a roommate you never met. Or worse yet, they plan to ship you to another nursing home altogether.
Nothing you can do, right? Wrong!
State and federal law empowers you to resist a discharge or transfer. Except in emergencies, nursing homes must provide 30 days' notice and a valid reason if they plan to discharge or transfer you out of the nursing home. For room or roommate changes, they must provide advance notice and a justification in writing. In all cases, you have the right to appeal and remain where you are until the matter is resolved.
This is among many crucial rights that the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) will highlight in October for Residents' Rights Month. Follow our posts on Facebook or Instagram/Threads at @njelderombudsman.
Residents' Rights Month is an annual awareness and outreach effort by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care. This year's theme is The Power of My Voice. LTCO staff worked with long-term care residents to produce a video amplifying residents' thoughts on the topic. Check out the video on our YouTube channel.
Learn more about residents' rights at NJ.GOV/OOIE/RESIDENT.SHTML.
LAST CALL! Voter Registration Deadline is Approaching
There is still time — but barely — to register to vote in the 2024 election. If you want to vote but are not yet registered, the deadline is Oct. 15.
If you are unsure of your status, visit VOTE.NJ.GOV. You can look yourself up or learn how to submit voter registration applications online, by mail, or in person.
More questions? Download our Election Guide at WWW.NJ.GOV/LTCO.
New Jersey Connection—Residents, Advocates Spotlighted at National Conference
Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Elizabeth Speidel, Director of Community Engagement, and three residents — Ray DiFrancesco, Gail Smith, and Martha Robinson — presented at the Consumer Voice conference held in San Francisco in late September.
Speidel, DiFrancesco, Smith, and Robinson led a presentation on Sept. 25 detailing how to transform advocacy efforts by elevating and centering the voices of long-term care residents.
Later that day, Brewer participated in a discussion with Kevin D. Walsh, New Jersey's Acting State Comptroller, and Joshua Lichtblau, Director of the Medicaid Fraud Division, about how advocates and Medicaid watchdogs can find common cause to identify and remove bad actors from the nursing home industry.
Check out next month's edition of The Beacon for more details.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
