Long Term Care Community Coalition

Despite the critical services nursing homes provide for New York’s aging population, widespread problems persist.

Safe, high-quality, person-centered care that maintains the wellbeing of our frailest New Yorkers has become the exception, rather than the rule. In 2017, a federal study found that New York State failed to ensure that violations found in inspections were actually corrected by nursing homes. In the absence of effective enforcement, it is vital that residents and their representatives and family know about nursing home standards and resident rights. With this knowledge and the appropriate tools, they can advocate effectively to improve care and reduce abuse and neglect in nursing homes. In 2017, NYHealth awarded the Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) a grant to ensure that New York nursing home residents and their families were well aware of care standards and resident rights by providing monthly webinar trainings and an in-person conference on the issue. In 2018, NYHealth awarded the LTCCC a second grant to continue engaging, educating, and empowering family members and representatives.

Under this grant, the LTCCC worked to empower consumers’ voices by engaging families and representatives and by developing tools and resources they can use to effectively advocate for their facilities and communities. The LTCCC fostered the development and success of family councils in New York State nursing homes, continued its educational webinars and in-person trainings, and strengthened the ability of families and representatives to tell their stories in their communities and to State and local policymakers.