What is an ombudsman?
Nearly 24 years ago I began my career in geriatric social work as director of social services in a local nursing home. One of the persons I came to depend on occasionally was not a member of the facility’s staff, but worked for the Area Agency on Aging.
That person’s title was/is “ombudsman.” It took me some time to learn how to correctly pronounce that word. But it didn’t take long to see what the ombudsman did. And I appreciated the work done by that person on behalf of residents in that nursing home.
“Ombudsman” is actually a Swedish word. Coined in 1959, the word designates a person who investigates complaints by other persons against institutions or authorities. You perhaps have seen the word used relative to a variety of civil institutions and/or authorities. As it is used within the long-term care industry, the ombudsman is a person who is authorized by the state to act as a patient/resident advocate who resides in a nursing home or an assisted living facility.
The ombudsman is trained in the laws and regulations that apply to residents of those kinds of residential communities.He or she visits local facilities, investigates complaints, and advocates on behalf of their residents. Federal law requires states to have this oversight and consumer advocacy program.
In the years I spent on staff at Sandpoint’s two nursing homes, plus time at a local assisted living facility, I needed to call on an ombudsman a number of times to address some facility concern with a resident, family members, a staff member, or handle some communication breakdown with all of the above.
I began my consulting service, Elder Advocates, in 2005. Since then, I have referred a good number of family members to contact an ombudsman at the Area Agency on Aging to address some issue that potentially impacted the care of their loved one.
If you have a family member or friend in either a nursing home or assisted living facility (here or elsewhere), you would be wise to become familiar with the important service and support offered by the ombudsman. In North Idaho, the ombudsman program is housed in the Area Agency on Agency in Coeur d’Alene.
Next Tuesday, our Geezer Forum will focus our attention on both the ombudsman program and the extensive services of the Area Agency on Aging. One of the ombudsmen who serves Bonner County is Roseanna Lewis. She will be one of our resource speakers. Roseanna will explain the program to us, will answer our questions about it, and — I suspect — will invite participants to consider becoming volunteers in the ombudsman program.
Joining Roseanna at our Geezer Forum will be Sage Stoddard. Since last summer, Sage has been the executive director of the Area Agency on Aging. So this will be her first experience at a Geezer Forum. She will provide us with an overview of AAA services with three emphases:
1) How we can help preserve the rights & safety of seniors; 2) How we can assist with daily living activities & needs; and 3) How we can help seniors stay healthy. Each of the services offered by AAA is intended to touch one or more of those emphases.
You may have never needed one of the services offered by AAA. But you likely know someone who has. Learn something for your neighbor, if not for yourself. Heck, bring your neighbor!
Paul Graves, M.Div., is Lead Geezer-in-Training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.