Kansas Advocates for Better Care (KABC)

06/16/2026

This is great news for Kansans!

Kansas has withdrawn from the multi-state lawsuit Texas v. Kennedy, a case that challenged portions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—a landmark federal civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Section 504 helps ensure that people with disabilities and older adults have equal access to healthcare, services, education, transportation, and other federally funded programs. It also supports the right of people with disabilities to receive services in the most integrated setting possible rather than being unnecessarily institutionalized.

For months, advocates across Kansas raised concerns that the lawsuit could weaken longstanding disability rights protections. We are grateful to the many organizations, advocates, self-advocates, family members, and community leaders who spoke up, educated policymakers, and worked tirelessly to protect these important rights. Their advocacy made a difference.

Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, said he was pleased Attorney General Kris Kobach chose to pull Kansas out of the Texas v. Kennedy case

06/11/2026

Exciting news! The new Kansas Aging Resource Guides are officially hitting the streets starting as early as tomorrow!

Thanks to a partnership with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), KABC has developed 11 regional Aging Resource Guides, one for each Area Agency on Aging region across Kansas. These guides are designed to help older adults, caregivers, and families connect with local resources and services in their communities. Guides are available to pick up through your local AAA!

We will have a limited number of guides available for pickup at the KABC office:
📍 536 Fireside Court, Suite B, Lawrence, KS 66049

The first two guides available are:

✅ Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging Region
📍 2910 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, KS 66611

✅ Johnson County Area Agency on Aging Region
📍 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite 1300, Olathe, KS 66061

Additional regional guides will be available soon!

We're proud to help connect Kansans with the information they need to age well and make informed decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Stay tuned for more updates as the remaining guides are released!

06/10/2026

📢 Caregivers of individuals living with dementia: Help may be available!

The Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging currently has grant funding available to assist caregivers caring for someone with a dementia diagnosis. Funds can be used for items that help make caregiving easier, including:

✅ Incontinence supplies (Depends)
✅ Gloves
✅ Nutritional supplements such as Boost
✅ Home accessibility items like ramps
✅ Other caregiver support needs

If you or someone you know could benefit from this assistance, please reach out to the Jayhawk AAA!

For more information, contact:

Michele Dillon
Caregiver Support Specialist
Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging
📞 (785) 235-1367 ext. 129
📧 [email protected]

06/01/2026

KABC is saddened to learn of the passing of former board member Ann Campbell.

Ann dedicated much of her life to public service, advocacy, and strengthening her community. We are grateful for Ann’s years of leadership, service, and support. Her contributions helped shape KABC’s work and will not be forgotten.

Our thoughts are with Ann’s family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched. A joint celebration of life service for Ann and her husband, J. R., is planned for June 5, 2026, at 10:30 AM at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Memorial donations can be made to Countryside United Methodist Church.

Thank you, Ann, for your dedication to advocacy and to improving the lives of others. Your legacy will continue to inspire our work.

🕊️

View Ann Campbell's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

05/27/2026

Know your rights! If a nursing facility asks you to use your own funds to pay for a family member's care, contact the KDADS (800-842-0078 or [email protected]) to file a report or seek the advice of an attorney knowledgeable about these issues.

🏠 Under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act, nursing homes generally cannot require someone else to use their own money to pay a resident’s bill as a condition of admission or continued stay.

💵 Even if you are a power of attorney, guardian, or help manage a resident’s finances, the nursing home cannot force you to personally guarantee payment with your own funds.

🚩 Watch for concerning contract language, including terms like:
• “Responsible Party”
• “Joint and Several Liability”

Contracts can sometimes include confusing language that appears to say you’re not personally responsible but later shifts financial responsibility onto you under certain circumstances.

✍️ Remember: You can refuse to sign an admissions contract that tries to hold you personally responsible for a resident’s nursing home bills.

05/19/2026

A fantastic new resource from our friends at National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care in partnership with The United States Department of Justice ✨

➡️Toolkit for Law Enforcement and Emergency Medical Services When Called to a Long-Term Care Facility

https://theconsumervoice.org/training/toolkit-law-enforcement-ems/

Consumer Voice works to empower long-term care residents, their families, and advocates in the pursuit of quality care and services, quality of life, and protection of rights

05/15/2026

The Trump Administration says its freeze on new Medicare enrollments for home health and hospice providers is about addressing fraud in the system.

www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-enrollment-hospice-fraud-trump-administration

But where is the same urgency when it comes to fraud happening every day inside long-term care institutions?

What do we call it when nursing homes charge residents and taxpayers thousands of dollars each month for care they are contractually obligated to provide, while operating chronically understaffed, failing to meet the needs of residents, and putting people at risk of neglect, dehydration, falls, bedsores, and preventable deaths?

Residents sign admission agreements with the expectation of adequate staffing, dignity, safety, and basic care. Yet many facilities continue to operate with skeletal staffing levels while collecting full reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, and private-pay residents.

At the same time, older adults across the country overwhelmingly want to age at home and in their communities, not in institutions. Home health and hospice services are critical supports that help people remain independent and out of nursing homes for as long as possible.

Freezing new enrollments for these providers risks limiting access to the very community-based services families desperately need, especially in rural and underserved areas. Fighting fraud should never come at the expense of an older adult's ability to receive care where they want to be: at home.

If policymakers are serious about protecting older adults and preventing fraud, accountability cannot stop with new providers. It must also include the long-term care corporations already profiting while failing to meet acceptable standards of care.

05/11/2026

Transition services are life-changing and often life-saving. We have seen firsthand what happens when people are given the opportunity to leave nursing facilities and return to the community. Individuals who appeared to be declining in institutional settings began to thrive once they returned home. People are incredibly resilient when they have the right supports, autonomy, and quality care.

Too often, residents in long-term care facilities lose access to individualized attention, appropriate services, meaningful daily life, and the dignity that comes with independence. When people transition back into the community, we frequently see improvements in overall health and well-being. Medications are reevaluated by community providers, and people gain access to more personalized care, better food, stronger social connections, and services centered around their actual needs and goals.

Community integration is not a luxury; it is a right.

Far too many Kansans remain trapped in long-term care facilities because of inadequate community supports, caregiver shortages, lack of affordable housing, and underfunded transition programs. The loss of this program leaves many residents without a pathway back home.

The people impacted by these decisions are not statistics. They are our neighbors, family members, friends, and community members. Every Kansan deserves the opportunity to live in the least restrictive setting possible and receive care that honors their dignity, preferences, and humanity.

TOPEKA (KSNT) — The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) is eliminating a Medicaid program that helps nursing home residents’ transition back into community living. Dur…

05/05/2026

This is horrifying!

A nurse in Florida says she was fired for reporting neglect after discovering a nursing home resident with maggots in untreated wounds. That resident later died.

Let that sink in.

This is what can happen when warning signs are ignored and when staff are punished for speaking up.

⚠️ A resident lost their life after experiencing extreme neglect.
⚠️ A staff member who tried to do the right thing was allegedly retaliated against.

This is not just one bad facility. This is what a broken system can look like, where silence is safer than accountability, and where residents pay the price with their lives.

When caregivers and staff are afraid to report concerns, abuse and neglect don’t just continue, they escalate.

🔗 cbs12.com/news/local/florida-news-boca-raton-nurse-says-she-was-fired-after-reporting-neglect-maggots-found-on-patient-nursing-home-abuse-lawsuit-shocking-discovery-health-safety-therapy

A Boca Raton nurse is suing a nursing home, alleging she was fired after reporting unsafe conditions, including a patient with maggot-infested wounds who died.

04/29/2026

New data from KFF highlights a troubling, and possibly deadly, reality: too many nursing homes, both in rural and urban areas, are being cited for serious deficiencies.

So what does that actually mean?

During inspections, nursing homes are cited for “deficiencies” when they fail to meet federal care standards. These can range from paperwork issues, food preparation issues, to serious violations that directly impact a resident's health and safety.

The most concerning citations fall into two categories:

🔴 Actual Harm: This means a resident was harmed due to the facility’s failure to meet care standards, compromising the resident's ability to maintain their highest well-being.

⚠️ Immediate Jeopardy: This is the most severe level. It means a situation has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or even death if not corrected immediately.

These are not minor issues. They can include things like abuse, neglect, exploitation, failure to provide necessary medical care, or unsafe living conditions.

In Kansas, this data is an important reminder: quality and oversight in long-term care matter. Every resident deserves safe, dignified care, no matter where they live.

At KABC, we remain committed to transparency, accountability, and advocating for stronger protections for residents across our state.

💡 Want to learn more or look up a facility? We’re here to help.