October is Residents Rights Month

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By Kay Kaylor

SUN Columnist

For San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging (SJBAAA), I am not only a part-time long-term care ombudsman, which is an advocate for residents at Pine Ridge, a 24-hour extended care home, and BeeHive, an assisted living residence. I also am an aging and disability specialist and trained Senior Medicare Patrol and State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor. Information on the many aging and care concerns will be included here.

October is Residents Rights Month designated by the National Consumer Voice, and the theme is “Stand for Quality.”

Residents in nursing homes have provided essays, poems, videos, photos and posters on the theme and they may be seen on theconsumervoice.org/misc/2019-rv-entries. The theme emphasizes the importance of quality care, quality of life, quality services and quality choices, for example, and is an opportunity for everyone “to focus on and celebrate awareness of dignity, respect and the rights of each resident.”

For example, a Maryland resident ended his essay with, “It is the little things in life that matter — meaningful interactions and relationships,” after detailing how much an “extraordinary aide” helped him beyond her job by starting the coffee maker and setting up the computer, all with a smile.

SJBAAA offers resources for people age 60 and older or on Medicare. For further information, please call me at 264-0501, ext. 1 or send an email to adrc@sjbaaa.org.