Family Member: Getting Quality Care

This page contains resources, tips and tools to help you get quality long-term care for your loved one. Click on the topic areas below to find more information.

Residents’ Rights


Residents’ Rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law, and nursing homes must meet federal residents’ rights requirements if they participate in Medicare or Medicaid. Visit the links below for consumer information and resources that can help you support an individual resident’s rights or be involved in an important national awareness campaign.

View the Residents’ Rights fact sheet to learn more about the topic.

National Residents' Rights Week 2009 is October 3-9, and this year's theme is "Defining Dining...It's About Me." Residents’ Rights Week is celebrated the first full week of October each year.

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Law and Regulations


The Nursing Home Reform Law is the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87) was landmark legislation for federal standards for nursing home care. Click on the above link to learn more about OBRA.

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Family Councils


Family members in a facility can join together to form a united consumer voice which can communicate concerns to facility administrators and work for resolutions and improvements by forming a family council. Visit the Family Council Center to learn more about family council rights, regulations applying to long-term care facilities, effective council advocacy, and tools for forming an effective council, and more!

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Fact sheets


Fact sheets are to-the-point summaries on the most common issues facing family members and nursing home residents. Each document answers key, frequently asked questions. View Consumer Voice’s fact sheets for family members of nursing home residents.

Encouraging Comfort Care: A Guide for Families of People with Dementia Living in Care Facilities
This free, online 21-page booklet, produced by the Alzheimer’s Association-Greater Illinois Chapter, provides information to families and staff of long-term care facilities about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, particularly care issues related to the late and final stages. For families, this guide offers information on informed choices about a variety of medical decisions they may face on behalf of loved ones with dementia living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other types of care settings. It is also intended to equip families with questions to ask about obtaining quality care for their loved ones, including a checklist of comfort care measures to be discussed with staff members of care facilities. For staff , the guide will serve as a tool to help educate families and assist them in care planning. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to disseminate this booklet in electronic and print formats.

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Citizen Advocacy Groups


Citizen advocacy groups (CAGs) are groups of concerned citizens who work to improve the quality of care for nursing home residents in their locality, state, or region, and many groups have expanded their focus to address quality of care issues across the long-term care continuum. Members of these groups are often people who have had loved ones in nursing homes and are concerned about nursing home residents. The groups share a commitment to improving the quality of care and life for residents who are in need of long-term care. They may be able to inform you about resources in your state, the quality of care in particular facilities, and the current status of long-term care reform in your state. Visit the Citizen Adovcay Group Center to learn more information.

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Consumer Voice Projects with Family Members


This project trained nursing home residents and their families nationwide through teleconference seminars and a web-based consumer education center. Topics addressed include: Resident-Directed Care Planning; Restraint-Free Nursing Home Care; Residents' Rights; Communication; Eating with Dignity; Incontinence and Quality Care.

  • Visit Consumer Voice's Family Council Center to learn more about Consumer Voice’s family council projects.

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Looking for information for residents of long-term care? Visit the Resident Section of our website.

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