October is Residents’ Rights Month, an annual event designated by The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care to honor residents living in long-term care facilities and those receiving care in their homes or communities. It is an opportunity to focus on and celebrate the dignity and rights of every individual receiving long-term services and supports.
Residents have the right to self-determination and to use their voices to make their own choices.
This year’s theme, “Join Us at the Table,” highlights the central role that food, mealtimes and community play in residents’ daily lives. Food is comfort, culture, identity and connection — a daily experience that shapes dignity and quality of life.
This theme encourages residents to share their experiences, preferences and traditions.
It also encourages staff, family members, long-term care ombudsman representatives and other advocates to come together to listen to residents’ experiences with food and dining, uplift their voices and work collectively toward ensuring that every meal reflects dignity, choice, respect and community. To contact Delaware’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, call 855-773-1002.
The Delaware Division of Health Care Quality, within the Department of Health and Social Services, is responsible for licensing, monitoring, inspecting and regulating Delaware facilities, including skilled-nursing facilities, assisted-living facilities and memory care units, to promote quality of care, quality of life, safety and security, and enforcement of compliance with state and federal laws. To contact DHCQ, call 877-453-0012.
In addition, the Delaware Residents’ Protection Commission is an advocacy group that monitors the quality assurance systems in skilled-nursing facilities, assisted-living facilities and memory care units as they relates to quality of care, quality of life and safety. To contact DRPC, call 302-836-2133.
Lisa Furber
Chair, Delaware Residents’ Protection Commission
Margaret Bailey
Executive director, Delaware Residents’ Protection Commission
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
