By:  Guide to Retirement Living Staff

What is an Ombudsman and How Can They Help Me?

Ombudsman is a Swedish term for a person who acts as an impartial third party in resolving problems. An Ombudsman can assist consumers who are choosing long-term care providers (nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, retirement communities, adult day care programs, and home care agencies) by offering information on an individual provider’s services, history of complaints, Virginia Department of Health Licensure status, and admissions process.

Ombudsmen are essentially advocates, who work to improve the quality of life for seniors and other individuals receiving long-term care services. In addition to providing the information necessary to allow you to make an informed decision about a long-term care provider, an Ombudsman can also investigate and help to resolve complaints against specific long-term care providers.

Utilizing volunteers, an Ombudsman can arrange for weekly visits to a long-term care facility. The overall goal of an Ombudsman is to educate the community at large about long-term care issues while simultaneously helping to train the staff of long-term care providers. Using the “Resident’s Bill of Rights,” an Ombudsman can inform consumers of their rights and long-term care providers of their responsibilities.

Resident’s Bill of Rights

  1. To be informed of your rights and rules and regulations governing your care, conduct, and responsibilities.
  2. To be informed of available services and related charges.
  3. To participate in planning your care and treatment.
  4. To be informed of reasons for transfer or discharge and to be given reasonable, advance notice.
  5. To voice grievances and recommend changes in policy.
  6. To manage your personal financial affairs.
  7. To be free from mental and physical abuse, and to be free from unauthorized chemical and physical restraints.
  8. To have confidential treatment of your personal and medical records and approval or refusal of their release.
  9. To be treated with recognition of your dignity, individuality, and privacy.
  10. To not perform services for the facility without your consent.
  11. To have private communication with persons of your choice and to send and receive unopened mail.
  12. To participate in social, religious, and community activities.
  13. To maintain and use personal clothing and possessions as space permits.
  14. To have privacy for visits with your spouse, family, and friends.
  15. To have the rights and responsibilities of residents available in an easily accessible place in the home.

What can an Ombudsman do about my Complaints or Concerns?

An Ombudsman can formally address your complaints and concerns. They serve as an impartial third party, who will hear your complaints and concerns and investigate them. Following a thorough investigation the Ombudsman will work with you and the long-term care provider to help resolve your concern. They can do this through counseling, mediation, and formal complaint investigation.

The counseling you receive from an Ombudsman is strictly confidential and can help you to become an advocate for yourself or a loved one. An Ombudsman will listen to your complaint and then offer information and referrals via the telephone, email, or at an in person visit to a long-term care facility.

If the concern requires a formal investigation, then a signed waiver of rights to patient confidentiality is required, so that the Ombudsman can review the records. The Ombudsman will act as an advocate on behalf of the long-term care recipient during this investigation. He/she will gather facts and relevant information in order to determine whether the complaint is valid. If the complaint is verified or partially verified, then the Ombudsman will work with the long-term care recipient or their representative and the provider to determine the appropriate course to resolve the problem.

For these reasons, your local Ombudsman is an important part of the continuum of care available in your community. If you have questions about long-term care providers or a complaint about a specific provider, please contact your Area Agency on Aging in order to locate an Ombudsman in your community.

This article was adapted from www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ltcombudsman which explains the Northern Virginia Ombudsman Program in detail.

This article was reprinted with permission from Guide to Retirement Living SourceBook, to access the original article and additional senior living resources in VA, MD, DC, DE, PA, NJ click here.