A Long Term Care Ombudsman is an advocate for residents of nursing homes, board and care homes, and assisted living facilities. Ombudsmen provide information about how to find a facility and what to do to get quality care. They are trained to resolve problems. If you want, the ombudsman can assist you with complaints. However, unless you give the ombudsman permission to share your concerns, these matters are kept confidential. Under the federal Older Americans Act, every state is required to have an Ombudsman Program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long term care system. To find the ombudsman in your state, click here.
Administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA), the ombudsman network has 8,400 volunteers certified to handle complaints and over 1,000 paid staff. Most State Ombudsman Programs are housed in their State Unit on Aging. (See exceptions here.) Nationally, the ombudsman program handles over 264,000 complaints annually and provides information, referrals and consultation to more than 260,000 people. To learn more about the ombudsman program, go to the AoA website.
Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
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MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/
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