Advocates are the safeguard for their loved ones who cannot speak for themselves. They can also impact systems change locally and nationally, and our presentations can help at both personal and systems levels.

The history and goals of the organization on the radio!

• Audio Version
• Video Version

How Quality of Life changes when caregivers begin to understand the communicative intent of behavior in people with dementia, in the video presentation “Behavior IS Communication! – My Mother’s Story” 

Regular content contributor to Reverse magazine, a publication geared to caregivers:

• Featured nonprofit organization, May/June 2023 issue. 
• Opportunities to support national legislation to improve care in nursing homes,  July/August 2023 issue.
• Nine steps to empowered advocacy, September/October 2023 issue
•  The importance of quality of life for people receiving long-term care, December 2023 
• When changes in type, level, or location of care are needed, February 2024  
• How to find the right care level and setting, March 2024
• Ensuring Quality Care, Step One: The Care Plan, May 2024
• The care plan team approach to advocacy and quality of life in long-term care, August 2024.

 Guest interviews for Navigating in Reverse, the podcast geared toward connecting caregivers with information and resources: 

•  “The Caregiver as Advocate: Helping Others Fight the Good Fight”, March 2023
• Staffing Issues in Long-Term Care, November 2024

Feature article focused on ministering to older adults published in the January, 2023 issue of Presbyterian Outlook (Note: Website offers three free reads of any content per 30-day period before being asked to purchase an issue or subscribe.) 

Testimony to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes, which is tasked with examining “how our nation delivers, regulates, finances and measures quality of nursing home care, including the long-standing challenges brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Remarks begin at 3:26 in the video and participation in the Q&A at 1:09:50.

Panelist on federal technical expert panel for the General Accounting Office (GAO) to develop a report on Improving Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes.

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Written testimony and statements for the record to Congressional Committees advocating for improved quality of care in long-term care facilities:

• Written statement for the record to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. Jim Clyburn, on September 21, 2022. 
• Written statement to a committee examining Medicare funding and regulations, chaired by Sen. Elizabeth Warren in January 2017. 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes undertook an examination of the condition of long-term care in nursing homes across the country. This Committee issued a comprehensive “Consensus Study Report” incorporating this testimony into an examination of current challenges and setting forth seven recommended “overarching goals” to fundamentally improve the care provided in the nation’s nursing homes. Our Mother’s Voice founder and CEO participated in the panel discussions contributing to this report, served as a reviewer prior to release of the report, is acknowledged for her work on pages vii and ix, and is quoted on pages 150-151 and 402 of the report.

The challenge of turning these goals into actions was taken up by the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition. The results are available on their website. Our CEO participated in two work groups for this project, summarized on the site: Targeted surveys to focus on quality of life while reducing duplication of work and streamlining survey processes; and training in two arenas– 

· Surveyors, to understand and identify true person-centered care and resident-focused outcomes essential to quality of life for each nursing home resident, and

· Facility Leadership, to implement staff development and quality improvement initiatives. 

 In an effort to clear the tremendous backlog of missed oversight surveys of nursing facilities, CMS is currently piloting an abbreviated survey process of nursing home oversight. The National Moving Forward Coalition, established in response to the 2022 NASEM report The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff, has developed a proposal for how best to structure a targeted survey process to capture the essential components assuring quality of care and resident-centered practices that improve quality of life – not simply cut down on the workload of surveyors and level of oversight of facilities – which it has shared with CMS to inform its work. That proposal is summarized here.