CMS has announced revisions to its guidance for nursing home surveyors, effective June 12, 2009. The new guidelines emphasize resident rights in areas such as: ensuring residents live with dignity; offering choices in care and services; accommodating the environment to each resident’s needs and preferences; and creating a more homelike environment for residents, including access for visitors.  Separately, CMS has issued a memo on the use of nursing facility civil money penalty (CMP) funds by states.  Specifically, the memo: clarifies that states may direct collected CMP funds to entities other than nursing homes as long as funds are used in accordance with statutory intent; shares innovative practices for states to consider when deciding how to use CMP funds to improve the quality of care and life for nursing home residents; and announces that CMS will consider reporting CMP amounts that have been returned to each state.