ADVOCACY CENTER FOR LONG-TERM CARE:

The Advocacy Center for Long-Term Care was established in 1972 in Minneapolis as the nation's first organization of nursing home residents. They called themselves the Nursing Home Residents Advisory Council (NHRAC) back then and their aim was to organize residents of nursing homes into independent, nonprofit, resident-run councils which would campaign for positive changes in nursing homes. Through resident councils, residents of nursing homes could participate in decision making within their residence and lobby for legislation that would improve conditions on local and national levels.

Besides organizing resident councils throughout Minnesota, the NHRAC has worked to strengthen family involvement in the care and protection of relatives in nursing homes through establishing family councils. Through workshops, newsletters, and personal contact NHRAC staff educated residents, their families, and nursing home staff on the rights and responsibilities of residents in long-term care facilities. In 1977 the Nursing Home Residents' Advocates (NHRA) was established as a companion ombudsman program to NHRAC that would answer questions from the public about long-term care facilities and help families make wise choices concerning the care of their relatives.

NHRAC has sponsored rallies, testified before legislative commissions, and supported numerous legislative initiatives including one of the first nurses aide training laws (1976), nursing home licensure provisions later replicated in federal law (1976, 1982, 1985), the first equal rates law (1976), one of the first state medical assistance laws to allow separation of spousal assets (1979), and the first personal needs allowance provision with an automatic cost of living increase (1988). Other legislation that passed into law has included a patients bill of rights (1973, 1983), the Vulnerable Adults Act (1980), living will legislation (1989), and the first state law to fund resident and family council education (1989).

Residents of the various Twin Cities councils meet monthly to conduct business, receive reports, and hear speakers on various topics in the long-term care field. Several other areas of the state also have established area councils which meet throughout the year. In addition, NHRAC's monthly newsletter is sent to all nursing homes in the state. Several NHRAC members were influential in the establishment of the National Coalition of Resident Councils and for several years the Minnesota organization kept the national organization afloat. NHRAC has therefore served as a model and receives hundreds of requests for information yearly from around the world. In 1986 the NHRAC and NHRA reorganized and took the name, Minnesota Alliance for Health Care Consumers. In the mid 1990s, they changed their name again to the current Advocacy Center for Long-Term Care (ACLTC).

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The records of the Advocacy Center for Long-Term Care for the most part document the first fifteen years of the organization, when it was known as the Nursing Home Residents Advisory Council. While there is some documentation from 1986 to 1995, when it was known as the Minnesota Alliance for Health Care Consumers, and from 1995 on, when it took its current name, the bulk of the collection is from the early years.

The collection has been organized into five series: administrative records (including annual reports, articles of incorporation, correspondence, financial records, and minutes), publications, subject files, lawsuit files, and legislative files. Researchers should note that the annual reports consist of only a few items and that the financial records, minutes, and newsletters are not complete. The correspondence, subject files, and legislative files, however, document the organization's activities and accomplishments in more detail.

The subject files, alphabetically arranged, document workshops and conferences sponsored by the organization, grants that helped fund the center, as well as press releases, news clippings, brochures, and historical articles. Also included are membership records, survey information, and material documenting the annual summer picnic and rally, National Nursing Home Residents Day, and the organization's ties with the National Coalition of Resident Councils.

The legislative files contain information on Minnesota legislation affecting nursing home residents from 1976 to 1987. Material is arranged by topic and includes information on passage of patient bill of rights legislation and increases in the monthly personal needs allowance of nursing home residents receiving Medicaid benefits. Material concerning other legislation and legislative rallies conducted by the organization are filed at the end of the legislative series in a chronological sequence.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Access Restrictions:

Access to records less than 20 years old requires written permission. Please consult the reference staff for more information.

Use Restrictions:

Quotation or publication of anything in or based on records less than 20 years old requires written permission.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Advocacy Center for Long-Term Care Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,720

Processing Information:

Processed by: Richard W. Arpi, March 2003

Catalog ID number: 990017379920104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Nursing homes- Law and legislation - Minnesota.

Nursing homes -- Rates.

Nursing home patients -- Minnesota.

Patient education -- Minnesota.

Patients -- legal status, laws, etc. -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Knowlton, Joan E., 1914-1988.

Dexter, Quentin F., 1919-1987.

Organizations:

Minnesota Alliance for Health Care Consumers.

Nursing Home Residents Advisory Council.

Nursing Home Residents Advocates.

National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.

National Coalition of Resident Councils.

Resident Council Services, Inc.

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