Today more than 160,000 Floridians live in nursing homes and similar long-term care settings, and many are unaware of their rights and the resources available to protect and defend them.
Every October, Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program partners with the office of the governor to secure a gubernatorial proclamation of Residents' Rights Month. The occasion calls attention to the fundamental rights of Florida's frailest elders to be treated with dignity and respect, and to have a say in decisions affecting their care. Long-term care residents have state-mandated rights, including fair and courteous treatment, privacy, voting and control over financial matters.
The ombudsman program is a government-funded resource available to help defend residents' rights and ensure their safety and well-being. Sadly, a volunteer ombudsman is sometimes the only visitor or voice a nursing home or assisted living facility resident has.
As Florida celebrates Residents' Rights Month, I encourage community members to visit someone they know in an assisted living facility, volunteer in a nursing home, participate in a Residents' Rights Month event (see our online calendar at http://ombudsman.myflorida.com/RRmonth.php for events in your area) or inquire about volunteering with the program.
Our parents and grandparents need to know they have not been forgotten. For information, call toll-free 1-800-831-0404 or visit http://ombudsman.myflorida.com.
BRIAN LEE
Tallahassee
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