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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2008
CONTACT
Marla Augustine, Communications & Legislative Services, (402) 471-4047, marla.augustine@dhhs.ne.gov
Nebraskans Invited to Observe Nursing Home
Residents’ Rights Week
LINCOLN - Join nursing home residents at the State Capitol in observing Nursing
Home Residents’ Rights Week in Nebraska, which highlights the importance of quality
care and quality of life for the over 15,000 people who currently reside in 232 Nebraska
nursing homes.
Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy will sign the proclamation declaring October 5 through 11 as
Nursing Home Resident’ Rights Week at 10:00 a.m. in the State Capitol Rotunda on
Thursday, October 2.
"People living in nursing homes are not only our family members, neighbors and
friends but a valuable resource in that they are our link to the recent past,"
according to Vivianne Chaumont, Director of the Medicaid and Long-Term Care Division
within the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). "Understanding
our past gives us a solid foundation for approaching our future."
During Residents’ Rights Week, the Nebraska Long-Term
Care Ombudsman Program helps focus attention on the rights of residents to make
choices about their care and treatment, to be treated with respect and dignity and to have
their concerns heard and addressed. The volunteers and staff of the Ombudsman Program, a
program of DHHS, assist residents in resolving concerns through the use of education,
advocacy and other problem-solving strategies.
DHHS encourages Nebraskans to visit the people residing in our state’s nursing
homes, to share their lives and express appreciation for their continuing contributions to
our communities, our state and our country. Residents’ Rights Week also offers an
opportunity to commend family members and friends of residents, professional caregivers,
state and federal surveyors and consumer advocacy groups, who all contribute to the
health, safety and well-being of residents of nursing homes.
To contact Nebraska’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program with questions or concerns,
call toll-free 1-800-942-7830.
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