Volunteer Ombudsman

Our Mission here at the Office of the RI Long Term Care Ombudsman (located within the Alliance For Better Long Term Care) is to improve the quality of life and health care of residents of long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and those who receive licensed health care or hospice in the home.

I am the Volunteer Ombudsman Coordinator here at the Alliance and I am seeking volunteers to become certified as Volunteer Long Term Care Ombudsman.

The process for becoming a Certified Long Term Care Volunteer Ombudsman requires 36 hours of training provided at no cost at a time and location convenient to you. The training includes class work, self-study, and shadowing of an experienced Ombudsman in a facility.

Upon completion of the training, an exam is given on the curriculum covered. On-going education sessions and support meetings are held regularly, volunteers are expected to attend as many as possible. Staff support is always available to assist volunteers with any issues they may encounter.

After successfully becoming a Certified Long Term Care Ombudsman, a volunteer will be assigned to one or more facilities where they will visit 3-4 times regularly each month. In addition a volunteer may be asked to assist a staff Ombudsman by way of making a facility/resident visit and reporting back with findings or be asked to make additional visits to area facilities as needed. In order to facilitate open communication with nursing home residents, volunteers are asked to make a minimum one-year commitment to the program.

We also have an extensive conflict of interest disclosure requirement which in part includes the following

• Having a financial interest in, employment, or business association with businesses dealing with long term care facilities monitored by the LTCO program;
• Having a family member in a long term care facility monitored by the LTCO program;
• Having direct involvement in the licensing or certification of a long term care facility monitored by the LTCO program: or
• Providing long term care services, including the provision of personnel for long term care facilities, or the operation which control access to or services for long term care facilities.

Volunteers in our program experience the satisfaction of playing a significant part in a great effort to meet the deep needs of some of the frailest and most vulnerable people in our society. I encourage you to seriously consider joining our efforts to improve the quality of care and the quality of life for nursing home residents.