In June 2004, AcademyHealth held what is hoped to be a series of Fund-sponsored colloquia on long-term care to increase attention to long-term care and cultivate a network of interested policymakers, providers, and researchers. Held in conjunction with AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting, the initial colloquium stimulated lively discussions on a number of long-term care issues, including the use of information to improve long-term care quality. Fund president Karen Davis, in her keynote address, discussed the demographic changes that are bringing long-term care to the forefront, the cost implications of those changes, and a policy framework for a possible Medicare long-term care benefit. Follow-up activities are planned to keep the momentum going between meetings and cement relationships among attendees.

Consumers are not often invited to participate in discussions of nursing home quality, although when well organized they can be extremely effective in promoting change. A small Fund grant to the Friends and Relatives of the Institutionalized Aging (FRIA), a consumer group based in New York City, will enable the organization to compile and produce a set of materials to help families of nursing home residents form family councils. The family council guide, which will be distributed on the FRIA Web site,⁽³⁰⁾ will also become part of a package of materials, including a video on family councils, being developed by the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.⁽³¹⁾

Many nursing home residents are not fortunate enough to have an actively involved family. Recognizing the need to give these individuals a voice, the Older Americans Act authorizes and partially supports the Nursing Home Ombudsman Program. Under the direction of Carroll Estes, a study being conducted in New York and California is learning how the local ombudsman programs can be made more effective. A national advisory committee has worked with the project team, which is being supported by the Fund and the Archstone Foundation, to develop the survey. Interest in participating is keen in other states, including Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.