Caregiver resources for nursing home, assisted living, and other elder care facilities: Assisted Living Facility Caregiver Resources

• Assisted Living Bill of Rights, Health Care Bill of Rights Regulation
• Consumer Information Guide to Assisted Living by Minnesota Department of Health.
• Assisted Living Quality Reviews by the Minnesota Department of Health.
• Questions to Ask when Visiting an Assisted Living Facility, by the Assisted Living Foundation of America.
• Need Assisted Living? A brochure by the Minnesota Board of Aging.
• National Center for Assisted Living, NCAL

Caregiver resources for nursing home, assisted living, and other elder care facilities: Assisted Living Facility Caregiver Resources

• Assisted Living Bill of Rights, Health Care Bill of Rights Regulation
• Consumer Information Guide to Assisted Living by Minnesota Department of Health.
• Assisted Living Quality Reviews by the Minnesota Department of Health.
• Questions to Ask when Visiting an Assisted Living Facility.
• Need Assisted Living? A brochure by the Minnesota Board of Aging.

Memory Care Facility Resources

• Time Slips (creative story telling for persons with dementia), provided through Time Slips Creative Storytelling.
• Home Care Bill of Rights, Minnesota Department of Health Document.
• Alzheimer’s Association

Caregiver and Elder Advocacy Organizations

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsors The National Center on Elder Abuse, NCEA which has a website with information concerning elder abuse, elder abuse reporting numbers, and links to other related resources.
• The Minnesota Board on Aging is a state sponsored non-profit organization that provides resources and facilities senior services.
• Senior Linkage Line is the Board on Aging’s free statewide information and assistance service. The Senior LinkAge Line service is provided by six Area Agencies on Aging that cover all 87 counties of Minnesota and helps you to connect to local services. The Senior LinkAge Line’s toll free number is 1-800-333-2433.
• Alzheimer’s Association, Minnesota – North Dakota Chapter a very active advocacy organization, offering education and training for individuals who provide care for individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
• Minnesota Vulnerable Adults Act, a brochure by Minnesota Board on Aging.

Resources for Resident’s and Family of Nursing Homes – Long Term Care Facilities

• The Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care was formed as NCCNHR (National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform) in 1975 because of public concern about substandard care in nursing homes. NCCNHR helped with the writing of The Federal Nursing Home Reform Act or OBRA ’87 which creates a set of national minimum set of standards of care and rights for people living in certified nursing facility. Their webpage has a variety of valuable information regarding the reduction and prevention of elder abuse and neglect.
• Minnesota Nursing Home Bills of Rights, Minnesota and Federal Regulations.
• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, Nursing Home Compare provides the user with assistance in finding a nursing home based upon particular criteria such as the types of care and rehabilitation provided, location and past history of the facility.
• Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Home Report Card provides a way to compare nursing homes in Minnesota based upon the quality of care provided in the facility as determined by the facility’s survey and complaint history.
• Tips for Choosing a Nursing Home provided by CMS Medicare.
• National Adult Protection Services Association, the national organization which supports local Adult Protection Services.  This site has valuable resources on prevention of elder abuse and neglect and how to respond when it occurs.
• Eldercare Locator, is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging to locates resources for older adults in other states. 1-800-677-1116.
• Family Councils are an important way that family and other community members can promote quality care of the resident of nursing homes, complaints made by the family council must be addressed by the facility under penalty with the state surveyors.
• Resident Councils are a direct way for residents to get involved in issues related to the quality of care given to the residents.
• The Law and Resident Councils, provided by Elder Care Rights Alliance / Tubman.  Here is guide on the issue of How to Organize and Direct an Effective Resident Council.
• Nursing Homes and How to Pay for Care, provide by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
• Share the Care Journal, provided by Minnesota Board on Aging.
• Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing Homes v. Assisted Living, by the Minnesota Office of Attorney General.
• Minnesota County Human Services Contact Information.
• Family Caregiver (in Spanish), Recursos Para Cuidadores de Familia.
• A Minnesota Long-Term Care Ombudsman can provide information about a resident’s rights and will also assist in resolving issues concerning placement, care issues and more. An ombudsman is an independent consumer advocate. Ombudsmen investigate complaints concerning the health, safety, welfare and rights of long-term care consumers, work to resolve individual concerns, and identify problems and advocate for changes to address them, at no charge to the consumer. Ombudsmen also offer information and consultation about nursing home, boarding care home, housing with services, assisted living, customized living, home care and hospital services, rights and regulations.

Minnesota Health Care Directive

• Minnesota Health Care Directive information from the Minnesota Board of Aging.

Common Types of Elder Neglect: Pressure Ulcers: Pressure Ulcers also known as Decubitus Ulcers and Bed Sores are a common form of neglect and often are avoidable with proper care and attention. A resident at risk for pressure ulcers should have preventative measures taken to protect them including: the use of: pressure relieving mattresses, frequent turning of bed bound residents, proper nutrition and hydration and other care.

• The Minnesota Department of Health prepared a brochure titled: “A Physician’s Practitioner’s & Clinician’s Reference Guide for Pressure Ulcer Prevention & Treatment”.
• The Minnesota Department of Health prepared a document titled: “Pressure Ulcers Questions and Answers”.
• Additional Information on Risks, Identification, and Prevention of Pressure Sores:

• Pressure Sore Staging
• Pressure Sores from Failure to Reposition Residents
• Additional Pressure Sore Ulcers

Fall Injuries:

• The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons publishes a fall prevention brochure for seniors.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control offer various sheets and education materials on fall prevention strategies and statistics.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control produces: Falls – Older Adults.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control also produces: What Outcomes are Linked to Falls? and Hip Fractures Among Older Adults.
• The Minnesota Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS has a power point on Who is at Risk? and How Can Older Adults Prevent Falls?

Medication Errors:

• The U. S. Food and Drug Administration produced a brochure for health professionals.
• Medlineplus provides information on a thorough list of health conditions which affect the health of seniors.
• Merck Manual of Geriatrics is a free online medical text and manual providing comprehensive and thorough approach to the field of gerontology based on the most current research available. In addition to medications, this manual addresses many aspects of prevention, cure or control of disease.
• Medication Guide from FDA.

Urinary Tract Infections and Incontinence:

• The Minnesota Department of Health has a multiple page article titled “Urinary Incontinence and Indwelling Catheters: CMS Guidance for Long-Term-Care”.
• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Prevention, a brochure by the Mayo Clinic.
• Additional Resources for Urinary Tract Infections.

Elder Physical and Sexual Abuse:

Here are resources on sexual assault from MNCASA:

• What to do if you are sexually assaulted
• What causes sexual violence?
• Statistics about sexual violence
• Legal resources for survivors

Financial Exploitation and Abuse:

• Seniors Guide to Fighting Fraud, by the Minnesota Office of Attorney General.
• Reporting Financial Abuse of Older Adults, by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI states that Senior Citizens are Fraud Targets and provides ways to reduce the risk of being a victim of fraud

Additional Elder Abuse and Neglect Resources:

• Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly, CANE, located at the University of Delaware Center for Community Research and Service is the nation’s largest computerized catalog on elder abuse literature with over 6000 titles.
• NCEA – A Bibliography of Elder Abuse and Neglect Related Research and Articles.
• VAJP Flyer – Prevent Elder Abuse