Berks County Office of Aging - Volunteer Ombudsman

Boyertown Senior Center

Volunteer Obudsman

Clinton Senior Center

INTRODUCTION

We make decisions and choices every day. As we progress from childhood to adulthood, the choices grow in number and complexity. Although this creates responsibilities in our lives, it also promotes independence. For many older adults, this sense of independence wanes as physical and cognitive problems take on a larger role in their lives. The need for assistance may eventually require an older adult to move into a personal care home or nursing facility, and for that person, it may seem that all independence is gone. That is where the Berks County Ombudsman Program, an in-house service of Berks County Office of Aging, enters the picture.

AUTHORIZATION OF THE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM

Pennsylvania legislation authorizing the Department of Aging requires the Department to “establish and administer a State Long-term Care Ombudsman program, including providing resources to area agencies on aging to investigate and resolve complaints related to the health, safety, or rights of older individuals who are consumers of long-term care services in nursing homes and personal care homes, the latter also referred to as assisted living facilities.” Moreover, the Department of Aging must provide a Long-term Care Ombudsman program to comply with both federal and state requirements.

An “older individual” is defined as a person residing in Pennsylvania and who is age sixty (60) or older. Further, “Long-term Care” is defined as “those services designed to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, supportive, or maintenance services for individuals who have chronic functional impairments in a variety of institutional and non-institutional care settings, including the home.”

Ombudsmen are trained and certified by the State Ombudsman Program to identify, investigate, and resolve complaints made by or on behalf of residents and relate to action, inaction, or decisions that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of the residents. This would also include the welfare and rights of the residents with respect to the appointment and activities of guardians and representative payees as well as providers, or representatives of providers, of long-term care services, public agencies, or health and social service agencies.

CODE OF ETHICS FOR PENNSYLVANIA OMBUDSMEN

The delivery of Ombudsman services must occur in a professional and ethical manner: 1. The Ombudsman provides services with respect for human dignity and the individuality of the consumer regardless of social or economic status, personal characteristics, or lifestyle choices.
2. The Ombudsman respects and promotes the consumer’s right to self-determination and self-resolution.
3. The Ombudsman makes every reasonable effort to ascertain and act in accordance with the consumer’s or legal representative’s wishes.
4. The Ombudsman acts to protect vulnerable individuals from abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment.
5. The Ombudsman safeguards and promotes the consumer’s rights to confidentiality and privacy.

6. The Ombudsman maintains competence in areas relevant to the long-term care system, especially regulatory and legislative information and long-term care service options.
7. The Ombudsman acts in accordance with the standards and practices of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s Long-term Care Ombudsman Program and with respect to the policies of the Area Agency on Aging.
8. The Ombudsman will provide professional advocacy services unrestricted by his/her personal belief or opinion.
9. The Ombudsman participates in efforts to promote a quality long-term care system.
10. The Ombudsman acts to maintain and promote the integrity of the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program.
11. The Ombudsman supports a strict conflict of interest standard which prohibits any financial interest in the delivery or provision of nursing home, board and care services, or other long-term care services which are within his/her scope on involvement.
12. The Ombudsman shall conduct him/herself in a manner which will strengthen the local, statewide, and national Ombudsman Network.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM IN BERKS COUNTY

Berks County Office of Aging currently has one (1) full-time Ombudsman and one (1) part-time Ombudsman certified by the State to empower, support and assist long-term care residents in resolving issues which relate to their care and their rights in the county’s fourteen (14) nursing facilities and twenty-seven (27) personal care homes. In addition to providing an advocacy for resident’s rights, the Berks County Ombudsmen also provide a visible presence in the county’s facilities and thereby promote an enhanced quality of life for the residents. The Volunteer Ombudsman Program, under the supervision of the Ombudsman Program, is a vital link in connecting long-term care residents with the Ombudsman Program Although the Ombudsman program has no regulatory ability, the Ombudsman, because he/she has a background of Federal and State regulations, can often impress upon a facility the degree of obligation or responsibility that is necessary to resolve a resident’s complaint.

For More Information about the Berks County Office of Aging's Volunteer Ombudsman Program Call (610) 478-6500 or e-mail us at aging@countyofberks.com or visit the Berks County Office of Aging, County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, Pa 19601-4303.