Family Councils
What is a Family Council and why are they SO important? Updated 9.7.23
A family council is an independent (self-led and self-determining) group of families and friends of nursing home residents. Together, family council members work to protect and improve the quality of life of residents. They give families a voice in decisions the nursing home makes about the people they love
You can think of a family council like the Parents' Association in your child's school. Concerned family members become involved to ensure that their loved one's needs are met. A united voice can accomplish what one voice cannot. Shared ideas can spark systemic change. There is strength in working together.
Every family council will have different goals, objectives, and activities. All work to increase support, education, communication, and action. Family Councils can provide additional goodies and fun events for the residents as well!
Support
Family councils provide ongoing mutual support and strength drawn from shared experiences. They bring together family members from different backgrounds. Family members are able to connect through similar issues and obstacles. They can share ideas and knowledge, and even check on one another's relatives when they visit the nursing home. We realize that most will stay on the Family Council as long as they have a loved one or friend at the facility, however, with new residents coming in, there will always be families available to keep the council going. Can you image having a welcome committee help you with basic information in the new world of long-term care you are about to enter! Priceless.
Education
Because most residents now enter nursing homes straight from the hospital, family members have little time to research homes, or to learn about nursing home policies and issues. Family councils can invite speakers, attend seminars, and spread information about specific concerns affecting their nursing home. When family members are informed, they are better equipped to advocate for their loved one.
Communication
Staff and family members use two different approaches to care for the same resident - professional and personal - and sometimes butt heads because of it. However, professional (nursing home staff) and volunteer (family and friends) caregivers seek a common goal; quality care for the residents. Family councils strive to align these two viewpoints to reinforce care capacity. The best care happens when family members and nursing home staff work together. Family councils do their part by communicating with staff about shared concerns and proposing how they can be a part of the solution.
Action
Perhaps most importantly, a family council acts on shared concerns. They give written concerns from the Council to the nursing home administration. This gives the families and facilities a chance to work together on positive solutions on any issue that arises. The goal is to find solutions at the facility level before having to make a official state complaint. The hope is to build better communications and solutions between the residents, families and facilities. Each Facility is requied to have a Resident Council and we hope to see Family Councils required in the future as we feel it will result in better care than without one. If there is no solution to an issue and a complaint needs to be filed, the council will be aware of how to enagage that. Hopefully, those times can be overall reduced with a Family Council. The families and facilities working as a team will bring the better results!