For additional resources, check out our Residents’ Rights landing page.

Launching during Fall Conference with The Basics of Resident Rights, join Elena Madrid & Vicki McNealley as they explore the fundamentals of Resident Rights in Long-Term Care!

The Basics of Resident Rights (Fall Conference)

While resident rights may seem straightforward to most, there are nuances that can prompt even the most seasoned long term care professional to pause.  Take 90 minutes to explore the intricacies of RCW 70.129 and discover the most commonly overlooked or misapplied rights. This session is the kick-off event for the coming autumn’s WHCA webinar series focusing on resident rights in long term care. There will be time for questions and discussion of some of the challenges you face when trying to ensure Resident Rights are protected in your facility. Learn more about the season’s coming webinar topics during this session.

October 3: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll

Times have changed, and so have long term care residents.  Older adults are the leading age group for a few different issues: they are having more sex and are the fastest growing age group for sexually transmitted infections; they are also accessing and using medical and recreational marijuana at increased rates when compared to other age groups.  And alcohol continues as a featured discussion point.  Join us for a two-hour webinar where we will discuss common social issues facing residents and the staff who care for them, and explore ways to promote resident rights while wading through these oftentimes-tough situations.

October 31: New Laws regarding Visitation and Access to Residents

The legislature passed Substitute House Bill 1218 in 2022; this bill focused on changes to the ombuds’ access to resident and surrogate decision-maker information, resident availability of communication methods, and availability to support persons for residents who may otherwise be unable to have visitors.  During this two-hour webinar, explore changes to your facility’s systems to ensure you are following the updates to the resident rights law as a result of this bill’s passing.

November 7: Surrogate Decision Making, Resident Capacity, and Consent

Supporting resident rights oftentimes relies on a resident’s family for input.  This two-hour webinar will start by covering the legal aspects of decision-making in Washington state, when a resident living in a long-term care setting cannot make their own healthcare and/or financial decisions.  In addressing capacity as well as consent, the presenters will offer robust dialogue and examples to enhance the attendee’s abilities to advocate for the resident’s safety as well as the resident’s happiness.

November 14: Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives

Part of supporting residents’ rights includes discovering their preferences as they near the end of their lives.  This two-hour webinar will cover the importance of including advance care planning in the resident assessment and care planning processes, including how to approach these delicate topics and aid the resident and their family in creating a vision for the resident’s last months, weeks, and days.  No advance care planning process is complete without discussing advance directives – what they are, what to do with completed documents, and how to educate staff in their application.

November 21: SNF CMS Resident Rights Requirements

This session focuses solely on the federal resident rights requirements that are different or in addition to Washington state resident rights law. Join us for a two-hour webinar to identify these nuances and how to support both state and federal resident rights in skilled nursing facilities.