What is the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program?
Long Term Care Ombudsmen are advocates for residents of nursing homes, board and care homes, assisted living facilities and similar adult care facilities. They work to resolve problems of individual residents and to bring about changes at the local, state and national levels to improve care. While most residents receive good care in long term care facilities, far too many are neglected, and unfortunate incidents of psychological, physical and other kinds of abuse do occur. Thousands of trained volunteer Ombudsmen regularly visit long term care facilities, monitor conditions and care, and provide a voice for those unable to speak for themselves. Created in 1972 as a demonstration program, the Ombudsman Program is currently established in all states under the Older Americans Act, which is administered by the Administration on Aging (AOA). Local Ombudsmen work on behalf of residents in hundreds of communities throughout the country. According to the AOA, approximately one thousand paid an
