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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2004

CONTACT: Bob McCafferty
(916) 419-7504

Sacramento - The California Department of Aging (CDA) today announced that it is expanding consumer protections for people living in nursing homes by recruiting additional volunteer long-term care (LTC) ombudsmen who will be trained and certified. The LTC Ombudsman Program plans to train hundreds of new ombudsmen over the next three years to help nursing home residents, their families and friends understand and exercise nursing home rights guaranteed by state law.

"Our effort to increase the number of volunteer ombudsmen is part of California’s Long-Term Care Consumer Protection Initiative that calls for further protections and improved services so the state’s frail, elderly and people with disabilities who live in nursing homes are provided with high-quality care," said Lynda Terry, CDA Director.

Ombudsmen act as advocates to improve the quality of life for residents of LTC facilities. They regularly visit local facilities, monitor conditions and help residents in other ways, including:

• Seeking to equitably resolve problems ranging from loss or theft of personal belongings to more serious situations, such as abuse or inadequate care.


• Educating residents, their families and the community about residents' legal rights.


• Providing technical support to develop resident and family councils.


• Identifying the root cause of systemic problems and presenting recommendations to nursing home administrators.

“It’s satisfying to help people better their lives by improving their living situation, comforts, freedom and the care they receive,” said Helen Hancock, 81, a retired registered nurse and a certified volunteer ombudsman in the Wise Senior Services LTC Ombudsman Program in Arcadia. “You can make a tremendous difference as an ombudsman."

Last year, more than 1,400 ombudsmen statewide received complaints from residents of nearly 1,200 skilled nursing facilities. Ombudsmen investigated these complaints and successfully resolved more than 15,000 of them.

Volunteer ombudsmen are trained and certified by the state. For more information about becoming a volunteer LTC ombudsman, call 1-800-510-2020 and ask to speak with the local ombudsman in your area.