Residents’ Rights Month 2025: How Families and Facilities Can Strengthen Safety, Well-Being, and Care

What Is Residents’ Rights Month?

Every October, communities across the country come together to recognize Residents’ Rights Month. This year’s theme, ‘Stand with Me,’ reminds us that residents’ rights are not just laws on paper—they are lived experiences that depend on all of us standing together: families, caregivers, and facility leadership.

This month, our weekly series will explore the most common residents’ rights violations that emerge when supports are strained, how policy changes are increasing risk, and practical ways to close care gaps. We’ll also highlight how tools and technology like Livindi can help both families and facilities collaborate to prevent violations, reduce stress, and improve resident well-being.

Why Residents’ Rights Are at Risk in 2025

Long-term care facilities are under more pressure today than ever before, and those pressures directly impact residents’ rights.

Staffing Shortages

• A 2021 survey from the American Health Care Association (AHCA) reported that 94% of nursing homes and 81% of assisted living communities faced staffing shortages in a given month
• The situation has not improved in 2025, with providers still struggling to recruit and retain qualified caregivers

Medicaid Funding Cuts

• Recent legislation will reduce Medicaid funding by more than $900 billion over the next decade. Medicaid is the primary payer for most nursing home residents, so this puts enormous strain on providers.
• Reimbursements already fall far short of actual care costs. In a 2025 AHCA survey:

• 92% of providers expressed concern about these cuts.
• Over 50% said Medicaid reimburses less than 80% of actual care costs.
• More than 1 in 10 facilities receive less than 50% of the cost of care from Medicaid.
• If cuts go through, providers predict staff reductions (58%), fewer admissions (55%), and in some cases, closures (27%).

Every Resident is Affected —Private Pay or Not

These challenges don’t just affect residents whose care is Medicaid-funded. When a facility is stretched thin, every resident feels the impact—whether private pay or not. Meals may take longer, staff have less time per resident, and preventive care can slip through the cracks. 

Case Scenario: When Medicaid Cuts Ripple Through Care

Imagine an assisted living community with 80 residents. Most are private pay, but a significant portion rely on Medicaid support for their care.

• Staffing is already short. Overextended caregivers face competing demands, which can result in delays in providing assistance, administering medications, or completing required medical checks.
• When Medicaid reimbursements fall below the cost of care, the facility may freeze hiring for open caregiver positions or delay replacing critical equipment like lifts or monitoring devices.

Result: 

The strain touches everyone. Residents wait longer for meals or assistance, medications may be delayed, families grow anxious about oversight, and staff morale suffers. Even private-pay residents feel the impact as facility-wide resources become stretched.

This is how funding shortfalls ripple across an entire community, not just those whose care is Medicaid-funded. In moments like these, families, staff, and leadership must stand together to ensure residents don’t feel the ripple effects of strained resources.

How Families and Facilities Can Respond

Residents’ Rights Month is more than symbolic. It’s a time to put this year’s theme—‘Stand with Me’—into practice by taking action together. Families, staff, and facilities each play a role in protecting rights, ensuring safety, and building trust.

• Families: Visit often, ask questions, and know the warning signs of common rights violations. Your involvement is one of the strongest protections your loved one has.
• Facilities: Strengthen communication, support staff with better tools, and be transparent with families. These steps improve trust, reduce complaints, and protect against violations.

How Livindi Helps Close the Gaps

Technology provides another way to ‘stand with’ residents—adding oversight, strengthening communication, and ensuring no one falls through the cracks. Livindi offers support by adding a proactive layer of oversight and connection, empowering both families and facilities.

Benefits for Families:

• Remote wellness monitoring detects changes early and alerts families directly
• Video calls and picture/video sharing reduce isolation and loneliness
• Care activity records and voice-activated emergency system provide peace of mind

Benefits for Facilities:

• The portal enhances staff efficiency, eases burden and reduces stress
• Provides visibility that helps catch small issues before they become critical
• Improves family trust and satisfaction—supporting compliance and reputation
• Real-time monitoring and reporting increases billed care revenue, reducing leakage from undocumented or underbilled care

For families, Residents’ Rights Month is a chance to reflect on the quality of care their loved ones receive. For facilities, it’s an opportunity to strengthen trust, improve communication, and ensure compliance. And for both, it’s a call to work together in creating safe, respectful, and empowering environments. 

What’s Next in the Residents’ Rights Series

This October, we’ll shine a light on four of the most pressing challenges facing residents in long-term care—from abuse and neglect to missed meals. Each week, we’ll explore what’s happening across the U.S. and how families and facilities can work together to keep residents safe.

Upcoming topics include:

• Standing Against Abuse & Neglect: How Families and Facilities Can Safeguard Residents

• Standing with Care Teams: Addressing Staffing Shortages and Protecting Daily Care

• Standing with Residents: Preventing Medication Errors and Building Oversight

• Standing Together Through Oversight: Protecting Health, Safety, and Emotional Well-Being in Daily Life

Residents’ Rights Month is a reminder that dignity and safety are non-negotiable rights. Upholding them takes all of us: families, staff, and leadership working together.

This series is about empowerment—giving families and facilities the knowledge and tools to protect residents’ rights and close care gaps before they become crises. Most of all, it’s about honoring this year’s theme: standing with residents in every aspect of their care.