Residents were honored at the annual Resident Forum held through The Buffalo Trace Area Development District.
On Friday, Oct. 4, the Buffalo Trace Area Agency on Aging and Independent Living hosted its second Resident Forum at the Maysville Community and Technical College in honor of Residents’ Rights Month.
Buffalo Trace Area Agency on Aging and Independent Living District Long-Term Care Ombudsman Amanda Grooms explained how the Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Eric Friedlander attended last year’s forum.
“Secretary Friedlander was impressed with how we provided a platform for residents to share their own experiences and stories. He took that concept back to the Cabinet and requested that it be replicated in all 15 Area Development Districts this October,” Grooms said.
This year’s forum welcomed people from The Buffalo Trace District to hear from residents of local long-term care.
Grooms opened the forum and said, “There is something incredibly special about Buffalo Trace…the people. The people volunteering within our program, the people working diligently in our facilities and the people who call our long-term care facilities their home.”
She expressed that she has the best job because she is able to visit some of the “most amazing women and men.”
“An event like today is a collective effort and one that could not be accomplished without the support of our wonderful facilities,” Grooms stated.
Those facilities included the Maysville Nursing and Rehab Facility, Perkins Country Manor, Robertson County Healthcare Facility, Pioneer Trace, Vanceburg Hills and Kenton Pointe Assisted Living Community.
“These are not just residents, these are family members, they are dear friends, they are incredibly loved, they are talented and accomplished men and women. They thrived in the community and they still thrive today,” Grooms expressed.
The theme for this year’s forum was “The Power of My Voice”.
Eastern Regional Ombudsman Jodi Karapandzic provided remarks and stated, “Thank you all so much for advocating and getting complaints about care and services resolved and for pulling this very uplifting event together where residents can share that despite challenges they face in long-term care facilities, they value all of the people in their lives.”
She said the forum was one example of helping residents amplify their voices.
Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill followed Karapandzic in giving remarks where he expressed the six local long-term care facilities do fantastic jobs at assisting those who are in need across The Buffalo Trace District.
He presented a proclamation on behalf of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Three residents joined the stage to accept the honor on behalf of all residents.
“I, Owen McNeill instead of Gov. Andy Beshear, Gov. of the Commonwealth of Kentucky hereby proclaim October 2023 as long-term care Residents’ Rights Month in Kentucky,” McNeill stated.
Six residents joined the stage to answer questions about long-term care.
A question was raised on what home means to them and one resident expressed that it is being safe, secure, loved and cared for.
Another resident said they had been at the Vanceburg facility for 24 years and that it had become their home.
In the second question raised, residents were asked what had remained the same through any changes and one resident explained that the care had remained the same.
The residents were asked about how they make sure their voices are heard and a resident said you just yell out and say something.
According to another resident, there was not anything that they could not ask staff and not anything that the staff would not do for them.
When asked what she hoped people took away from the forum Grooms said, “Don’t take people for granted and don’t allow the opinion of others to dictate your own. The forum is to act as a reminder that these residents are not people to be overlooked or looked down upon.”
She noted that Linda Miller, one of the residents on the stage had put it best when she said to “put yourself in our shoes.”
“We as a community must do better at taking the time to listen, to visit and to truly care for those who so desperately deserve our attention and love. There is power in one’s voice and theirs did not silence when they entered a facility. It’s imperative that we always have ears to listen and a heart to understand,” Grooms stated.