Sarah Wells is executive director of Consumer Voice.

The National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR), a resident advocacy group, said Monday that it is expanding its advocacy priorities. It also will have a new moniker, The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, or Consumer Voice, for short.

“While the Consumer Voice’s work has historically been in nursing homes, we’re expanding to meet changing needs for long-term care,” said Consumer Voice Board President Norma Atteberry, RN, in a statement from the group.

The organization’s expanded priorities will include “enhanced advocacy” at nursing homes, representing assisted living and home-care consumers, building a grassroots network, and furthering a policy agenda focused on its current role in nursing homes and other areas of care. NCCNHR and nursing home provider groups are frequently at different sides of issues, particularly when they pertain to enhanced regulations of nursing homes.

Consumer Voice’s policy agenda includes reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, implementation of long-term care provisions in the healthcare reform law, and development of policy on non-nursing-home settings, including assisted living, according to the statement.