Residents' Advisory Council

Section 340 Section 340.1430  Residents' Advisory Council a) Each facility shall establish a residents' advisory council consisting of at least five resident members.  If there are not five residents capable of functioning on the residents' advisory council, as determined by the Interdisciplinary Team, residents' representatives shall take the place of the required number of residents. The administrator shall designate a member of the facility staff to coordinate the establishment of, and render assistance to, the council. (Section 2-203 of the Act) b)         The resident members shall be elected to the council by vote of their fellow residents, and the nonresident members shall be elected to the council by vote of the resident members of the council. c)         All residents' advisory council meetings shall be open to participation by all residents and by their representatives. d) No employee or affiliate of a facility shall be a member of any council. Such persons may attend to discuss interests or functions of the non-members when invited by members of the residents' advisory council.  (Section 2-203(a) of the Act) e) The council shall meet at least once each month with the staff coordinator who shall provide assistance to the council in preparing and disseminating a report of each meeting to all residents, the administrator, and the staff. (Section 2-203(b) of the Act) f) Records of the council meetings shall be maintained in the office of the administrator. (Section 2-203(c) of the Act) g) The residents' advisory council may communicate to the administrator the opinions and concerns of the residents.  The council shall review procedures for implementing resident rights and facility responsibilities and make recommendations for changes or additions which will strengthen the facility's policies and procedures as they affect residents' rights and facility responsibilities. (Section 2-203(d) of the Act) h) The council shall be a forum for: 1) Obtaining and disseminating information; 2) Soliciting and adopting recommendations for facility programming and improvements; 3) Early identification of problems; 4) Recommending orderly resolution of problems. (Section 2-203(e) of the Act) i) The council may present complaints on behalf of a resident to the Department, the Long-Term Care Facility Advisory Board created by Section 2-204 of the Act, or to any other person it considers appropriate. (Section 2-203(f) of the Act) j)          Each facility shall develop and implement a plan for assuring a liaison with concerned individuals and groups in the local community. Ways in which this requirement can be met include, but are not limited to, the following: 1)         the inclusion of community members such as volunteers, family members, residents' friends, residents' advocates, or community representatives, etc. on the resident advisory council; 2)         the establishment of a separate community advisory group with persons of the residents' choosing; or 3)         finding a church or civic group to "adopt" the facility. k)         Families and friends of residents who live in the community retain the right to form family councils. 1)         If there is a family council in the facility, or if one is formed at the request of family members or the ombudsman, a facility shall make information about the family council available to all current and prospective residents, their families and their representatives.  The information shall be provided by the family council, prospective members or the ombudsman. 2)         If a family council is formed, facilities shall provide a place for the family council to meet.