Virginia H. Fraser (September 30, 1928 - November 18, 2011) is an American activist for human rights, women's rights, and the rights of elders. He is a Long Term Care Ombudsman for the state of Colorado for more than two decades. She co-authored several works on nursing home care and elderly care. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
Video Virginia Fraser
Early life and education
Virginia Hart was born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 30, 1928. She is a graduate of Hiram College, where she meets her husband, Charles H. Fraser. They married in June 1951. The couple moved to Colorado in 1957, where he earned his master's degree in speech communication at the University of Denver.
Maps Virginia Fraser
Careers
In the early 1950s he assisted the American Friends Service Committee with a playground integration in Washington, D. C. He then worked for the Women's Election League on issues such as fair housing, civil rights, alternative education, and the environment. He was often a participant in the protest rallies and wrote numerous letters to the editor to promote the cause.
In 1977 Fraser was inspired to begin advocating for the rights of elders. He taught in a program for "older and non-traditional students" at Loretto Heights College in Denver. To help students meet course requirements for community service projects, he contacted the local nursing home and oversee student activities there. A newspaper article about the project raised more than 100 requests for help, and he contacted the Colorado Senior Congress. The organization has just received a $ 20,000 federal grant to fund the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, and they offer Fraser's position. He started work in 1980.
Fraser spawned offices from a one-woman operation to a staff of 40 fig and 100 volunteers, raising funds from the public and private sectors. The Ombudsman advocates residents of nursing homes and state-assisted living facilities. They collect complaints from residents and advocate them to management, but do not have the legal power to punish violations. They also prepare an annual report for the Colorado legislature. In early 2000, the office of the Colorado State Treatment Ombudsman was named by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as one of the "best" in the country.
As part of his visit to the nursing home, Fraser encourages residents to form their own councils to lobby for their rights. He also created a "citizenship rights game Bingo" that teaches citizens and staff about their rights in a fun way. Over 7,000 copies of the game are purchased by nursing homes throughout the United States. Fraser then suggested a project to sew the "residents' blanket blanket" in one of the state's largest nursing homes.
In May 2001, Fraser and Jan Meyers, then deputy directors of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, resigned in protest at the Colorado Department of Human Services effort to curb their independence. While Federal law for state ombudsmen defines the role of ombudsmen as "recommending [change] and facilitating public comments on Federal, state, and local laws, rules and policies", the state department demands that the ombudsman obtain permission from it earlier. talking to legislators or with the media about problems in long-term care facilities.
Affiliation and membership
Fraser is a founding member of The Network for Special Elders, a precursor to the local branch of the Alzheimer's Association.
On the local front, he is a founding member of the Littleton Council on Human Relations and the Denver Fair Housing Center. He is also a member of the Board of Arapahoe Community College, the Littleton Planning Commission, and the Littleton Museum Board. He volunteered to record the oral history of many of the old Littleton residents for the Museum. She is also a member of Marias, an informal group of local women activists who meet each month to discuss state, local, and personal issues.
Awards and honors
Fraser received many national awards for his efforts to promote nursing rights at home. In 2000 he was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He received the Littleton Independent ' The Most Valuable Citizen Award, and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
Personal life
She and her husband, Charles H. Fraser, a pediatrician, have four daughters. Families enjoy hiking, horse riding and cycling.
Fraser suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years. He died of a stroke on November 18, 2011, 83 years old.
Bibliography
- Understanding 'Senility': A Layperson's Guide . Book of Prometheus. 1987. ISBN: 0879753927. (with Susan M. Thornton)
- The New Elders: Innovative program by, for and about parents . Loretto Heights College. 1987. (with Susan M. Thornton)
- Nursing Home: Getting Good Care There . American Source Book.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments