The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care Issues Newsletter
The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has issued their September Newsletter. The newsletter discussed the recent budget cuts to Illinois Ombudsmen Programs. On October 1, planned state budget cuts will significantly reduce funding to Illinois’s long-term care ombudsmen program. These budget cuts will place further strain on the program that helps prevent nursing home abuse and neglect. The budget cuts will reduce funding from $2.34 million to 1.9 million. This will inevitably mean a decrease in ombudsmen, who routinely address the questions and concerns of residents. The president of the Illinois Association of Long-Term Care Ombudsmen stated that the regular presence of an ombudsman is vitally important especially for those who do not have family and friends to advocate on their behalf. The decrease of ombudsmen will reduce the amount of help that elderly residents receive in nursing homes. The newsletter also discussed that nursing home executives are excluded from federal health care programs and the fact that the inspector general has released reports on hospice in nursing homes. To read the entire newsletter, please click the link.
