Northwest Washington volunteers needed to advocate for adults in long-term care
A Washington state program designed to support and advocate for individuals living in long-term care facilities is seeking volunteers from Whatcom, Skagit and other northwest counties amid a “serious shortage.”
The Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program trains and certifies volunteer representatives to visit long-term care homes including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and adult family homes, with the goal of ensuring residents’ rights are respected and that they are receiving quality care.
The program is designed to comply with the federal Older Americans Act and its duties are outlined in Washington state law.
“Our work is challenging, and incredibly rewarding too. But when we don’t have enough volunteers, it’s residents who suffer the most. Our volunteers are absolutely essential to our ability to advocate for residents’ rights,” the program’s regional ombudsman for northwest Washington counties Laura Chouinard said in a statement.
About 4,000 Washington residents live in 103 long-term care homes in northwest Washington, many who don’t receive frequent visits from family or friends, according to the ombudsmen.
Without people to check on residents’ well-being, the ombudsmen say these residents can face unwanted discharge or eviction, poor quality care, physical abuse and poor response times to requests for support, food and nutrition issues and medication management.
Elizabeth Moore is the sister of a long-term care resident in Washington who was the victim of a head-on collision that has left her severely debilitated for the last 40 years. After her sister injured herself in a fall and tried to return to her care facility after recovering in rehab last year, the facility her sister had been living in for almost ten years attempted to evict her.
Moore said the Ombudsman Program helped her seek legal assistance that ultimately got her sister back home.
“Most residents don’t have fierce family advocates living nearby; that’s why the work of the Ombudsman program is so important. I would encourage anyone who desires to help our vulnerable neighbors, family and friends in long-term care to consider becoming a volunteer long-term care Ombuds representative,” Moore said in a statement. “Residents like my sister deserve to have their rights respected, and they need advocates to help them solve the many problems they experience - whether they have involved family members helping them or not.”
Volunteers with the Ombudsman Program are trained to address issues before they escalate, leading to fewer unnecessary hospitalizations, lowering health care costs and reducing the burden on the regulatory system.
Volunteers are also trained to identify early signs of abuse and neglect, intervene to protect older adults from further harm and improve resident satisfaction with their care services.
“It’s rewarding to be able to listen to people and come up with creative ways to help solve the problems they face, keeping issues from escalating,” Sedro-Woolley Ombudsman volunteer Trisha Hochreiter said in a statement. “From supporting a former resident in getting her dog back when she recovered from an injury and was able to move back into her home to coming up with ideas like getting a white noise machine to help a resident cope with a noisy next door neighbor in her facility, volunteer long-term care advocates are able to make a big difference for residents.”
Community members interested in learning about the training and responsibilities involved with becoming a long-term care Ombudsman can contact Laura Choinard by phone at 253-354-6255, by email at laura.chouinard@mschelps.org, or by visiting the program’s website.
