January 14, 2025

In this Issue:

1. Webinar on Recent Updates to Federal Nursing Home Surveyor Guidance
2. Webinar Tomorrow on Trauma-Informed Care
3. Website Highlight: Learning & Resources
4. Webinar Series on Protecting Older Adults from Financial Exploitation

Webinar on Recent Updates to Federal Nursing Home Surveyor Guidance

On November 18, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released revised guidance to nursing home surveyors. Read Consumer Voice’s detailed explanation of these updates. These important revisions address several areas, including:

• Prohibitions on third-party financial guarantees.
• Inappropriate transfers and discharges.
  
• Unnecessary use of psychotropic medications.
  
• Misdiagnosing residents with schizophrenia.

Join us on Wednesday, January 22, for a webinar detailing these and other important updates and how they will affect the lives of those living in long-term care facilities. We will be joined by Toby Edelman from The Center for Medicare Advocacy and Eric Carlson from Justice in Aging.

Register Now

Webinar Tomorrow on Trauma-Informed Care

Join the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) for a webinar titled, An Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care on Wednesday, January 15, 2:00 - 3:00pm ET. The training will be provided by the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF).

This webinar will explore the principles of trauma-informed care and share techniques for creating a safe environment where both residents and staff can thrive. NORC staff will discuss how to apply the information learned to Ombudsman program work and highlight relevant resources.

NOTE: The primary audience for COE-NF training are nursing facility staff; however, it is important for Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (LTCOPs) to understand trauma-informed care and learn about best practices and resources to share with nursing facility staff to support residents.

Register Now

Website Highlight: Learning & Resources

Visit the Learning and Resources page on the newly redesigned Consumer Voice website. Browse issues facing long-term care consumers and information on public policy that affects consumers. Use the new advanced search to find essential resources based on topic.

Visit theconsumervoice.org/resources.

Webinar Series on Protecting Older Adults from Financial Exploitation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Office for Older Americans is offering a webinar series on protecting older adults from financial exploitation. The series includes topics on Protecting Older Adults from Check Fraud; Cognitive Decline and Elder Financial Exploitation in Older Age; Social Isolation and Financial Exploitation in Older Age; Government Imposter Scams and Older Adults; and more.

Register for the series.