Citizen Advocacy Group Center

Citizen Advocacy Group Center
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. These groups can be very well established organizations with budgets, staff people, and offices or can be as small as a group of concerned citizens who meet around the kitchen table to share information and strategize about how they can work to improve the quality of care in their community.   Members of these groups are often people who have had loved ones in nursing homes and are concerned about nursing home residents. Despite their diversity, all of 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 nursing home reform in your state.    Many of the files on this page are in PDF format, which requires Adobe Acrobat. Click Here to get Adobe Acrobat Reader for Free.
Opportunities for Citizen Advocacy Groups Citizen Advocacy Group News Citizen Advocacy Group Toolkit Finding Citizen Advocacy Groups  Learn and Take Action! Fact Sheets NCCNHR's Consumer Center Long-Term Care Omudsman Programs NCCNHR's Family Council Center Additional Resources
Opportunities for Citizen Advocacy Groups
Citizen Advocacy Group Discussion/Listserv   Subscribe to Citizen Advocacy Groups for Quality Long-Term Care Email:  Visit this group This discussion group for citizen advocacy groups (CAGs) across the U.S. allows CAG members to network, share successes, accomplishments, and challenges, converse and get feedback, and learn about resources and opportunities available for CAGs through NCCNHR. This discussion group/listserv is confidential – it is only CAG members. It is not open to ombudsmen and facility staff.
Citizen Advocacy Group News
Read about Citizen Advocacy Group News and check back frequently          for more news! (updated 8/5/08)  Read more advocacy news.
Citizen Advocacy Group Toolkit
Organizing to Improve Long-Term Care in Your State & Community: A NCCNHR Toolkit for Citizen Advocates was designed to support the daily work of long-term care citizen advocacy groups nationwide. The Toolkit aims to provide CAGs with organizational development resources that were chosen for their user friendliness and applicability to advocacy work. The Toolkit is intended to be a web-based, “living” resource subject to modifications and additions as the long-term care climate changes, opportunities arise, and funding allows.
Finding Citizen Advocacy Groups
You can view contact information for the citizen advocacy groups in several states. We hope that the information provided will enable people around the country who are interested in nursing home reform to connect with each other and organize to bring about change for nursing home residents. If you know of other advocacy groups we should add to our list, please let us know!
Learn and Take Action!
Improve long-term care in your area, and across the U.S.! Visit NCCNHR's Action Center: View up-to-date information on Congressional Hearings, Bulletins, Legislative Proposals, etc. Learn and advocate for restraint free care as part of NCCNHR's California California Voices for Quality: Strategies in the National Campaign for Excellence in America's Nursing Homes project: The project provides information and tools to train ombudsmen to engage consumers in quality improvement, by educating and engaging consumers to advance better quality care in nursing homes. Consumer-oriented materials, including fact sheets, have been developed; training programs and educational conference calls were held; and materials are posted on the website.  Advocate Effectively: Read a list of suggestions for advocacy tips as you advocate for yourself or your loved one, including how to document concerns. Contact the long-term care ombudsman program in your state: In addition to acting as an advocate for residents, ombudsmen can educate residents, families and friends about resident rights, state surveys, and federal and state laws that are applicable to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.  Participate in the in the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign: NCCNHR encourages all consumers to participate in this national campaign. This is an opportunity to promote quality care practices in every nursing home in the country. Learn more about NCCNHR's involvement in the Campaign, and ways you can get involved!   Visit NCCNHR's Government Policy website: Learn about staffing issues, view an action center, etc. Visit NCCNHR's Culture Change website: Learn about the grassroots movement to transform the culture of aging in America. Also visit the Pioneer Network's website. Visit the Nursing Home Compare website: This is a tool on the Medicare website that displays quality measure data, deficiencies and other information about nursing homes. It is organized by state and county to help you search for facilities near   you or anywhere in the country.
Fact Sheets
Find consumer-friendly information on issues affecting residents such as residents' rights, malnutrition, the use of restraints, and changing the culture of long-term care facilities.
NCCNHR's Consumer Center
Visit NCCNHR's Consumer Center for more information, including information on the following topics: Residents, Family Members and Councils Residents' Rights Fact Sheets Federal Law and Regulations Making a Difference: Learn, Take Action, and Advocate! NCCNHR Publications The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
Find contact information for the long-term care ombudsman program in your state. In addition to acting as an advocate for residents, ombudsmen can educate residents, families and friends about resident rights, state surveys, and federal and state laws that are applicable to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
NCCNHR Family Council Center
View information on NCCNHR Projects related to family councils, family council rights that are protected by federal law, regulations applying to long-term care facilities, effective council advocacy, and tools for forming an effective council. 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. Family councils can play a crucial role in voicing concerns, requesting improvements, supporting new family members and residents, and supporting facility efforts to make care and life in the facility the best it can be.
Additional Resources
Check back soon for additional resources!