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RESOLUTION NO. 08-318
A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING THE MONTH
OF OCTOBER, 2008, AS uRESIDENTS'
RIGHTS MONTH" IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY,
FLORIDA
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie
County, Florida, has made the following determinations:
1. Today, more than 160,000 Floridians live in nursing homes
or similar long-term care settings, and many are unaware of their
rights and the resources available to protect and defend them.
2. Every October, Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
partners with the Office of the Governor to proclaim Residents'
Rights Month.
The occasion calls attention to the fundamental
rights of Florida's frailest elders to be treated with dignity and
respect, and to have a say in decisions affecting their care.
3. Long-term care residents have state-mandated rights
including fair and courteous treatment, privacy, control over
financial matters, and - of particular note this year - the right
to vote.
4. The ombudsman program is a government-funded resource
available to help defend residents' rights and ensure their safety
and well being. Sadly, a volunteer ombudsman is sometimes the only
visitor or voice a resident has.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County
Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida:
1. This Board does hereby proclaim the month of October,
2008, as "RESIDENTS' RIGHTS MONTH" in St. Lucie County, Florida
2. This Board urges the citizens of St. Lucie County to
visit someone they know in an assisted living facility, volunteer
in a nursing home, participate in Residents' Rights Month events,
or inquire about volunteering with the ombudsman program. Our
parents, grandparents, veterans, former doctors and teachers need
to know they have not been forgotten.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 14th day of October, 2008.
ATTEST:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By~rM
CHAIRMAN
FORM AND