Official Site of The State of New Jersey

For Immediate Release:
June 19, 2025

Nursing Home Resident Ray DiFrancesco Honored for Advocacy

Congratulations to Ray DiFrancesco (pictured, second from right), a founding member of NJ Nursing Home Residents United, who received the Elder Protection Task Force’s 2025 Award of Excellence to recognize his efforts toward empowering himself and other nursing home residents to self-advocate.

Ray received the award June 13 during a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) event hosted at the Monroe Township Senior Center by the New Jersey Attorney General, Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor–Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Elder Protection Task Force. Pictured above, from left to right: Rich King, Deputy Chief of Detectives, Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor; Heather Hadley, Bureau Chief, Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor–Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; Ray DiFrancesco; and Al Garcia, Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

Ray is one of several New Jersey nursing home residents in the Residents United group, which works closely with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Community Engagement Program to educate people about nursing home issues and ensure that advocacy efforts are centered on residents’ wishes.

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