July 30, 2024
Contact: Kelly Barrett Sarama, Esq.
Title: Director of Development & Communications
Tel: 716-853-3087 x229
Email: ksarama@elderjusticeny.org
Contact: Alex Dery Snyder
Title: Director of Policy & Communications
Tel: 518-935-2843
Email: aderysnider@empirejustice.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Free Resource Empowers Nursing Home Residents, Families in Western New York & Finger Lakes Region
A Guide to Resident Rights and Tips Expanded by Local Organizations
WESTERN NEW YORK – The Center for Elder Law & Justice and the Empire Justice Center are pleased to announce an update to the free “Nursing Home Resident Rights and Tips” resource guide, informed by community feedback through a public survey. The guide offers concise descriptions of important resident rights, answers frequently asked questions, provides general how-to information, and shares a wealth of additional resources that are available in 14 counties, spanning Western New York to the Finger Lakes region.
Nursing home residents can be especially vulnerable to mistreatment. Federal, state, and local governments aim to protect this population by guaranteeing certain rights to patients in both short- and long-term skilled nursing facilities. These includethe right to be free from abuse and neglect, the right to self-determination, the right to be fully informed, and the right to raise grievances, to name a few. The resource guide helps residents and their families understand what is included under each right and provides strategies to self-advocate.
“Understanding your rights and the basic processes involved with living in a nursing home can help guide conversations about care and hopefully make the nursing home experience less overwhelming for residents and their families. It can also ensure that residents are treated with dignity. We hope this free resource guide empowers residents and families to self-advocate,” said Center for Elder Law & Justice Director of Policy,Lindsay Heckler Esq.
Said Empire Justice Center’s Senior Health Law Attorney, Alexia Mickles, “Nursing home residents and their families are regularly reaching out to us with questions about admission and discharge procedures, eligibility for health insurance coverage of nursing home stays, and so much more. We are thankful to team up with CELJ on this project, and excited for New Yorkers to have easy access to such critical information. This guide is an excellent resource for current or future residents, as well as their families or friends, as they attempt to navigate the challenging nursing home process.”
The free, accessible resource guide is easily navigable online and in print. To request a paper copy, please call the Center for Elder Law &Justice at (716) 853-3087. The updated version of this guide was made possible by the New York Health Foundation, with funding of the initial guide provided by the Odd Fellow & Rebekah Benefit fund.
The Center for Elder Law & Justice is available to deliver presentations throughout Western New York that go more in-depth on any of the matters included in the booklet. Please call the Center for Elder Law & Justice at (716) 853-3087 to learn more and to schedule a presentation.
Empire Justice Center’s Health Law Unit is available to deliver presentations or answer questions throughout the Rochester/Finger Lakes region. Please call 1-800-724-0490 x5822, or email health@empirejustice.org to learn more.
A PDF version of the guide is available for your convenience, as well as an online flipbook.
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At CELJ (pronounced CELL-JAY) (Center for Elder Law & Justice), we advocate for justice at all stages of life to ensure that our clients may live independently and with dignity. Since 1978, our team of lawyers, paralegals, and social workers has provided comprehensive free legal services to the WNY community’s older adults, individuals with disabilities, and financially eligible population. We serve as guardian for court-appointed older adults and people with disabilities, most of whom experienced abuse in the past. We are a trustee for WNY Coalition Pooled Trusts, which takes individuals out of the cycle of poverty, by allowing them to live in the community and maintain a comfortable quality of life. CELJ’s main office is located in Buffalo, New York, and we have satellite offices in Niagara and Chautauqua counties, as well as medical-legal partnerships at Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo General Medical Center, and John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.
Empire Justice Center is a statewide nonprofit law firm whose mission is to make the law work for all New Yorkers, particularly for those who need its protection most. We take a 360-degree, comprehensive approach to changing systems by engaging in three major and interconnected areas of service. Weteachthe law by providing training, support and technical assistance to legal services and other community-based organizations; wepracticethe law by providing direct, civil legal assistance to low-income people with a particular focus on those from marginalized communities; and wechangethe law by engaging in policy analysis, research and advocacy and undertaking impact litigation to get at the root of systemic issues.
