Ombudsmen provide a valuable service to the elderly. Not only do they serve as advocates to nursing home residents, they also investigate and resolve complaints and make unannounced visits to nursing homes to ensure residents’ needs are being met. An estimated 40 percent of nursing home residents have no family or friends to visit with or advocate for them.

A spokesperson with Ombudsman Services of Northern California says mandatory reporting of incidents has dropped though the number of residents in the homes has increased – a formula which doesn’t make sense. The group is concerned that the 1,600 northern California nursing homes and assisted living facilities regularly serviced by the program will begin to see a rise in senior abuse.

Instead of visiting assisted living facilities once a month and nursing homes weekly, since the budget cuts ombudsmen visits have dropped to once a year for assisted living facilities and monthly for nursing homes.

According to the report, Assemblyman Dave Jones, (D) Sacramento, has co-authored legislation to restore ombudsman funding. That bill would direct money to the ombudsman programs from fines levied against care home operators who break the law.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › CA long-term care facilities suffer from cuts to ombudsman program

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