If you have a friend or relative living in a
nursing or rest home in North Worcester County, you should know
about Consumer Advocates For Better care of Montachusett Home
Care Corporation. We are the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. We
are here for you.
What is an Ombudsman you ask? An Ombudsman is a
person who helps resolve citizen's complaints. The Long Term Care
Ombudsman is a person, trained and certified by the state of
Massachusetts, who helps resolve complaints specifically from
residents who live in nursing and rest homes. We can be of
service to friends and family members, as well.
When people enter nursing and rest homes, they
don't leave their personalities at the door. Nor do they lose
their basic human rights, or their need for respect,
encouragement and friendliness. The role of the Long Term Care
Ombudsman is to advocate for residents and their rights, and to
ensure that these quality of life issues are upheld.
Who are the Long Term Care Ombudsmen? They are
just like you, everyday people from the local community. They are
people who care about elders in Long Term Care, who want to make
a difference in the lives of these residents of nursing and rest
homes. They are people who have gone through specialized training
to become one of the 400 certified Long Term Care Ombudsman
across the state of Massachusetts.
Ombudsman visit local nursing and rest
homes on a weekly basis. By doing this, they get to know many
of the residents personally. A bond of trust is formed as the
residents come to know that the Ombudsman is there, on their
side, to help resolve complaints or concerns on their behalf.
Complaints that Ombudsmen address are very
diverse. They range from resident care issues to quality of life
issues, such as lack of transportation or dissatisfaction with
meals or lack of meaningful activities. The philosophy of the
Ombudsman Program is to attempt to resolve complaints, whenever
possible, in cooperation with facility staff. We are successful
in more than 90% of the cases, using this process. In some
instances, complaints may be referred to the sate or federal
agencies that have jurisdiction over each type of complaint.
Another valuable service of the Ombudsman
Program is to provide the consumer with information on local
Long-Term Care facilities. We can be a resource to people seeking
nursing or rest home placement for their loved ones or for
themselves. We offer Long Term Care guidebooks which have a
complete listing of facilities in the North Worcester County
area, the levels of care they serve, the types of services they
offer. Since our Ombudsmen visit all 30 nursing and rest homes
regularly, our information is first-hand and up to date.
The Ombudsman Program services are free of
charge. We are a program of Montachusett Home Care Corporation.
We receive our funding through the Executive Office of Elder
Affairs. Our office hours are from 8:30-4:30 Monday - Friday. We
invite you to call us at 978-537-7411 or 1-800-734-7312 if you
have questions or if we can be of service to you.
