Back in the late 1960s, Lawrence, Kansas community activist, "Petey" Cerf, was doing her usual weekly newspaper reading session for a bedridden nursing home resident when she heard another resident in a nearby room cry out for help. The nursing staff person, who was walking by shouted back, "Shut up!" and kept on walking. Petey felt distressed at how roughly the nurse had treated the resident. Two days later Petey was stunned to read the obituary of that same resident. Petey got angry and told all her friends what she had seen and heard. That was the start of the nursing home reform movement in Kansas.

By the early 1970s Petey had garnered active interest from nearly 100 people across the state. Petey called a meeting in Wichita to discuss their concerns about the care being provided to nursing home residents. A committee of the group traveled across Kansas and visited several dozen nursing homes, taking notes at every stop. They saw abuse and neglect almost everywhere. They saw residents slumped in wheelchairs, groggy from drugs. They smelled urine soaked clothes on residents. They heard moans and crying from bedridden residents. The group testified to the Kansas Legislature and Governor about the poor quality of care they observed. Petey’s group stated their mission as "advocating for quality long-term care".

Elected leaders listened and believed. Some state laws for nursing home reform were passed. For example, now nurse aides are required to take 90 hours of training before they can provide direct care. The group incorporated as a non-profit and the momentum continued. More than thirty years later, Petey is gone but her legacy, Kansas Advocates for Better Care (KABC) remains a strong consumer voice that advocates for quality care for residents of licensed adult care homes in Kansas. Of the over 18,000 nursing home residents, nearly 5,000 currently live with poor quality care. We must continue the mission.

Join us! Call KABC at 1-785-842-3088 or toll-free at 1-800-525-1782.