Advocacy in Action (October 2024): Your Right to Vote

Libby Hastings • November 2, 2024

As we approach the 2024 general election, it’s important to ensure that you’re registered to vote and prepared to participate. In Kansas, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the state, and at least 18 years old by Election Day to register. Additionally, if you’ve moved or changed your name, you’ll need to update your voter registration. You can check your voter registration online, view a sample ballot, and check your polling location.


Kansas is a “no-excuse” absentee voting state, meaning any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason. The deadline to register to vote or update your registration is Tuesday, October 15th. You can register in person at your local election office, at the DMV, or online if you have a valid Kansas driver’s license or ID. If you don’t have one, you can still register using the paper Kansas Voter Registration Application by mail.


For voters who prefer to vote by mail, the deadline to submit your advance voting application is October 29th, and ballots will begin being mailed on October 16th. Make sure your ballot is postmarked by November 5th (Election Day) and received by the county election office within three business days after the election.


If you vote in person, Kansas requires photographic identification. Voters 65 or older can use an expired photo ID.

For residents in long-term care facilities, absentee ballots may be an easier option than voting in-person.


When residents receive their ballots in the mail, long-term care staff must understand what they can and cannot help with when it comes to assisting residents in filling out their ballots. For example, an assistance provider should ask the voter what choice they want to make. The assistance provider must never make assumptions regarding how a person wants to vote. If the resident has a Power of Attorney (POA), that person should be contacted about helping the resident fill out their ballot. The resident has the right to decide whether they want assistance and can choose who they want to help them fill out their ballot.


The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a recent memo affirming the regulatory expectation that ensures nursing home residents have the unimpeded ability to exercise their right to vote as a citizen of the United States. The memo hits the high points from the Nursing Home Reform Act that requires facilities honor the rights, including the right to vote, of residents.



Federal and state laws ensure that voting is accessible to everyone. If you feel your voting rights have been violated, contact the Office of the Secretary of State at 800-262-VOTE (8683).

Understanding the Special Focus Facility Program

By Libby Hastings • April 21, 2025
Understanding the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program: What Families Need to Know When Choosing a Nursing Home in Kansas When searching for a nursing home for a loved one, families often look for a place that will offer safe, reliable, and compassionate care. One important—but often overlooked—resource that can help inform that decision is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program , managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). What Is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program? The SFF Program was created by CMS to address the most persistent quality problems in nursing homes across the country. Every nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid is regularly inspected to ensure it meets health and safety standards. Most nursing homes will have a few issues identified during these inspections—typically six to seven deficiencies on average—but some facilities consistently fall far below acceptable standards. These nursing homes: Have twice as many deficiencies as the average facility, Have more serious issues , including those that cause actual harm to residents, And show a long-term pattern of poor performance over a span of about three years. Facilities like these may fix issues temporarily, but often fail to address the root causes—resulting in a harmful cycle of repeated violations. That’s where the SFF program comes in. How the SFF Program Works CMS uses inspection data to score nursing homes based on both the number and severity of their deficiencies. Facilities with the highest scores (i.e., the most and most serious problems) are added to a list of SFF candidates . Each state is allowed only a limited number of active SFFs at a time—currently, only 88 facilities nationwide can be enrolled in the program. However, CMS maintains a much longer list of SFF candidates that also meet the criteria but haven't yet been selected for the program due to space limits. Once a facility is chosen as an active SFF: It is inspected every six months instead of the usual once a year. It may face progressive enforcement , such as financial penalties or losing eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid. It must show real, lasting improvements to graduate from the program. A facility "graduates" from the SFF program only after it has two consecutive inspections (after being named an SFF) with no more than 12 relatively minor deficiencies and none at a higher severity level. If a facility continues to have serious violations, CMS may consider terminating its participation in Medicare and/or Medicaid. Why This Matters to Kansas Familie s Being informed about a nursing home’s history can help protect your loved ones. Facilities in the SFF program—or on the candidate list—have serious quality concerns. While some may be working hard to improve, others may continue to struggle with systemic issues that put residents at risk. As of March 2025, the following nursing homes in Kansas are included in the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program: Excel Healthcare and Rehab Topeka (recently closed) Access Mental Health (Peabody) The following facilities in Kansas are currently on the SFF candidate list : Clearwater Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Good Samaritan Society- Liberal Kearny County Hospital Long-Term Care Unit Legacy at College Hill (Wichita) Legacy on 10th Avenue (Topeka) Medicalodges Jackson County Medicalodges Post Acute Care Center (Kansas City) Meridian Rehabilitation and Health Care Center (Wichita) Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation (Kansas City) Tanglewood Nursing and Rehabilitation (Topeka) The following facilities graduated from the SFF program: Advena Living of Cherryvale Life Care Center of Osawatomie Anew Healthcare Oxford is a facility that is no longer participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Program. We encourage families to take time to research and ask questions when considering a nursing home. You can access the full national SFF and candidate list on the CMS website here . KABC offers free unbiased Consumer Information Reports on all licensed adult care facilities in Kansas, helping you make an informed choice when deciding between long-term care options. Final Thoughts The Special Focus Facility Program exists to push underperforming nursing homes to do better—but it’s also a signal to the public. When selecting long-term care, knowing whether a facility is on this list can be an important part of making the best choice for your loved one. If you have questions about how to find quality nursing home care in Kansas or want help understanding a facility’s inspection history, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

Advocacy in Action (April 2025): Legislative Recap

April 2, 2025
As we move further into 2025, we want to share an update on our legislative advocacy efforts this session. KABC remains committed to championing policies that protect and support older adults and individuals in long-term care. Here’s a look at key legislative developments and where things stand: