Long Term Care Ombudsman

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 state 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 nursing and rest homes regularly, our information is first-hand and up to date.