Ombudsmen play an important role
Your home is your castle. But for people who have moved into long-term care facilities, the authority lines may be confusing.
“This is their home,” said Renee Hewitt, Advocacy Services coordinator. “They need to understand they have rights and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. It’s all about quality of care. Quality of life.”
Hewitt is the longest standing member of the Butler County branch of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
Ombudsmen, which literally translates from Swedish to “an investigator of citizen complaints,” advocate for people living in nursing or personal care homes.
They are tasked with protecting people’s rights, whether requests come from the residents or from family members or workers in the facilities.
It’s a mandated program that is county run but state and federally funded.
In Butler County, there are four paid ombudsman and four trained volunteers.
Part of their job is just to walk into the facilities and chat up the residents.
Beth Herold, director of the Area Agency on Aging, said just being visible and available to the residents can empower them to advocate for themselves.
The ombudsmen hear out complaints and help to negotiate resolutions. They also distribute literature and educate both staff and residents on quality of life issues.
Maybe, for example, residents are dissatisfied with their meal selection. Or they would like to have an activity added to the recreation choices. Or they are having a roommate conflict or would just like people to knock before they enter a resident’s room.
Ombudsmen do not investigate allegations of abuse or neglect. That’s handled by a different group of people who also are within the umbrella function of the Butler County Area Agency on Aging. And they do not enforce regulations.
The ombudsmen say long-term care facilities often run on tight, regimented schedules for good reasons. But those schedules sometimes don’t recognize that each resident is an individual with personal preferences and unique needs.
The resident and even their families might already have expressed concerns and feel frustrated. Or they might have kept silent about their worries for fear of retaliation.
“Or maybe they just don’t want looked at as a ‘troublemaker,’” said paid ombudsman Wendy Hooks.
Also, the ombudsmen help ease the transition when one home closes and residents must relocate.
The county has 13 nursing home, 32 personal care homes, four adult day cares and three domiciliary care homes.
Steve Slagle, a paid ombudsman for about a dozen years, said the job can be rewarding.
“Sometimes residents feel relief just because they see you,” Slagle said. “They know they have someone in their corner, so to speak.”
To volunteer or for more information on the ombudsman program, call 724-282-3008.
