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November 22, 1999
Illinois Council Hosts Statewide Meetings
for Resident Council Officers
(Chicago) -- Sixty residents from 30 different Chicago area
nursing homes came together from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
November 9th at the Radisson Lincolnwood
Hotel to discuss how to effectively address their concerns
as nursing home residents.
The nursing home residents were all
officers and members of Chicago area nursing home Resident
Councils. Every nursing home in Illinois is required
by law to have a Resident Council to give residents
a voice about issues affecting them in the nursing home.
In recognition of the important role
of nursing home Resident Councils, the Illinois Council
on Long Term Care is sponsoring four free educational
workshops around the state specifically for nursing
home residents, entitled Resident
Councils Make a Difference. The Illinois Council
on Long Term Care is a professional health care association
representing over 200 nursing facilities that serve
35,000 residents across Illinois.
The purpose of Resident
Councils Make A Difference is to find out from
the residents themselves what they deem important
in fostering their abilities, enhancing their independence,
and promoting their quality of life. The event offers
an opportunity for the Resident Council officers and
members from different nursing homes to meet and exchange
ideas, as well as learn helpful information from supportive
professionals in the field.
In addition, Resident Councils Make
a Difference also had a presentation to help the staff
members at Illinois nursing facilities better utilize
their Resident Councils to address resident grievances,
resolve resident complaints, and utilize residents’
problem-solving abilities. Resident Councils represent
the heart of the “customer service” focus
at Illinois nursing facilities that guides continuous
quality improvement programs and enhances the development
of facility services.
Among the discussion topics at the
Resident Councils Make a Difference workshop:
·
Using the Resident Council to Make Changes
·
Getting Results for Resident Council Concerns
·
Quality of Life: What Is Meaningful to
Our Residents
·
Creating a More Comfortable and Home-Like
Environment
·
Enhancing Resident Well-Being Through
Activities
·
Using Resident Councils as an Educational
Forum
Each resident at the Chicagoland-area
Resident Councils Make a Difference Program received
an informational packet containing Federal and State
regulations pertaining to Resident Councils, a handout
on empowering Resident Councils, samples of by-laws,
and sample forms for a “solution-oriented”
Resident Council that meet the requirements of the Joint
Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
(JCAHO).
“Normally, the Illinois Council
sponsors monthly training seminars for nursing home
staff -- the professionals and caregivers who care for
residents,” said Terry Sullivan, Executive Director
of the Illinois Council on Long Term Care. “Then
someone suggested that we do a training program, not
just for the staff, but for the residents themselves,
to give them greater opportunity to impact on their
lives in the nursing home. Doing seminars for the residents
themselves is a departure from our usual training approach,
and I’m really excited about the response we are
receiving.”
Later this month, the Illinois Council
on Long Term Care will be hosting three more Resident
Councils Make a Difference workshops in Peoria, Marion,
and Belleville. These events will enable hundreds of
Illinois nursing home residents and staff members to
come together for a rewarding day of networking, discussion,
and fellowship.
“Resident Councils represent
an important tool for nursing home residents to voice
their concerns, suggest facility improvements, provide
praise for quality services, and express their individual
needs as customers,” states Myrtle Klauer, Director
of Resident Services for the Illinois Council on Long
Term Care. “Our statewide event provides a wonderful
opportunity to hear from a variety of Illinois long
term care residents about their expectations and needs
related to maximizing their independence, morale, and
quality of life.”
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