Assisted-living resident submits poem for Residents' Rights Month

Residents' Rights Month is designated by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and is celebrated each October to honor residents of long-term care. It's an opportunity for every facility to focus on and celebrate awareness of dignity, respect and the value of each resident. This year, residents may submit stories, poems, pictures, videos, artwork and other medium they choose.

Joyce Almquist, a resident of Rose Terrace Cottages, an assisted-living facility in Coeur d'Alene, submitted the following poem:

This is a beautiful place to live and grow.

There are wonderful people to learn and know.

Friendships are made, some deep and long.

Help is here when things go wrong.

There is a place for love and rest.

There are opportunities to do one's best.

Here is where there is much beauty to learn.

Here is where there is much care and concern.

For those who are dysfunctional,

mentally or physically,

care is given to them to the best of their ability.

Visitors are encouraged to come and see

how we are cared for compassionately.

Friends and family can surely testify

how we are loved

and given the most dignity.

There was a time when such a poem would not have been written. Residents of long-term care facilities did not have the rights and privileges they do today. There was no governing body, no oversight, no standards that had to be adhered to by owners. But that was to change with the Older Americans Act.

Way back in 1971, Congress made funds available to several states to establish investigative units in response to dangerous and abusive situations in nursing homes. That was the beginning of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Now every state has a State Ombudsman, Regional Ombudsmen and, in our case here in the Panhandle, an additional team of volunteer ombudsmen. Ombudsmen are advocates and problem-solvers for residents of long-term care.

When residents enter long-term care, they keep their rights as American citizens. Amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1978 gave them additional resident rights:

* The right to be fully informed

* The right to participate in their own care

* The right to make independent choices

* The right privacy and confidentiality

* The right to dignity, respect and freedom

* The right to security for their possessions

* The right to remain in the facility

* The right to raise concerns and complaints

These rights make a huge difference to a resident's quality of care and quality of life, as Joyce testifies.