Resident Councils at nursing homes, if properly used by residents, are a powerful tool. Federal regulations dictate all complaints expressed by Resident Council must be treated as a formal complaint and the Council is entitled to a WRITTEN review of what the facility has done to address the issue or if the facility cannot fix the issue, they must explain why IN WRITING. The Ombudsman should be encouraged by the Council to attend as many meetings as possible to aid in holding the facility accountable for the issues presented. The facility management may try to block this, but as long as the Ombudsman is invited by the Council, management cannot block this. However, even if the Ombudsman does not attend the meetings, the Council should notify the Ombudsman and request their help if the facility management does not comply with regulations. By the way, Resident Council meetings are just that RESIDENT meetings. The Council has the right to meet without any staff present and can request staff leave the meeting at any time.