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| Volunteers
Make a Difference! |
In 1809, the Swedish
Parliament defined an ombudsman as a government
official with high personal prestige and independence
who would listen to complaints of individual citizens
about the government and try to solve them in
an impartial manner.
Today, long-term care ombudsmen stress advocacy
and empowerment in dealing with residents' rights
and family issues.
I CARE strives to have ombudsmen in the facility
on a regular basis so that they know the residents
and staff. With a regular and meaningful access
to ombudsman services, residents and families
know the ombudsmen and how to contact I CARE.
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| THE
VOLUNTEER OMBUDSMAN... |
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A
volunteer advocate (ombudsman) is a community
volunteer who has been trained and certified
by the Department on Aging to advocate on behalf
of all residents sixty and older in long-term
care facilities.
Each facility is assigned one or more volunteer
ombudsmen who have the authority to answer questions,
investigate complaints, and resolve problems.
I CARE provides paid staff who give support
and technical assistance to 125 volunteers in
the twelve county area.
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| VOLUNTEER
OMBUDSMAN PROVIDES... |
| During monthly
visits to the long-term care facilities, the I
CARE volunteers offer |
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Confidentiality
about any problem or concern |
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Knowledge
on how to identify and resolve problems
or concerns |
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Knowledge
on how to interpret and explain residents'
rights |
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| COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEERS... |
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To continue making
this program viable, The Institute of Medicine
recommends one paid staff for every twenty volunteers
visiting long-term care facilities. I CARE recommends
one volunteer for every twenty-five residents.
This would be the minimum goal for I CARE.
For the 92 nursing
homes and Intermediate Care Facilities for the
Developmentally Disabled in the I CARE area,
it would take approximately 270 I CARE volunteers
to provide residents and their families with
meaningful access to ombudsman services.
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| TRAINING
AND REQUIREMENTS... |
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I CARE volunteer
advocates are required to attend one day of
training and visit a nursing home with an ombudsman
staff member on a second day of training. Volunteers
are offered the opportunity to visit a facility
with experienced advocates until they are comfortable
and confident. Six hours of continued education
training per year is required and offered locally
and in Springfield.
Requirements
for ombudsmen, once trained and certified, is
to visit one facility once a month, although
twice a month is recommended.
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| OTHER
OPPORTUNITIES... |
| Besides the visits
to the facilities, volunteers are also needed
for increasing public awareness in the community
to increase the knowledge and understanding of
the ombudsman program and long-term care issues.
Public relations opportunities include: |
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Cooperating
with the area Community Partnership Planning
Group to provide information to local media
outlets including newspapers, radio stations,
and public access cable. |
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Presenting
program information to local clubs and organizations. |
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Organizing
fundraising events. |
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Working
with family councils within the facilities.
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| Community
Responsibility |
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| YOUR
COMMUNITY... |
| Communities have
a responsibility to protect the rights of their
most frail and vulnerable people. Communities
must be the eyes and ears for their residents.
It is critical that the community support volunteer
advocates (ombudsmen) in long-term care facilities.
One out of eight Americans is sixty-five or older.
By the year 2020, that proportion will be one
in five. More people in all communities will require
some sort of long-term care and/or assisted living
at some point in their lives. The I CARE program
is built on volunteer service, and the more volunteers
that the communities are able to provide in long-term
care facilities, the better communities are able
to address issues that often plague long-term
care facilities such as staff shortages. |
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| COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIP PLANNING GROUPS... |
| Members of four
communities in the I CARE area have established
Community Partnership Planning Groups. Members
of these groups are dedicated to increasing public
awareness of the I CARE program and long-term
care issues. Goals of the Planning Groups include
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Reaching
communities with vital information about
I CARE and long-term care issues on a regular
basis. The communities can be reached through
several means such as, media outlets, houses
of worship, civic organizations, and local
senior citizens centers.
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Recruiting
and retaining volunteers to serve as ombudsmen. |
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Working
with facilities to see family councils established
and supported in all facilities. Family
councils offer family members a voice in
the decisions that affect their loved ones.
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| RESIDENTS
NEED YOUR HELP |
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You can make
a contribution by:
- becoming
a volunteer advocate (ombudsman),
- being a part
of the Community Partnership Planning Group,
- or volunteering
in some other capacity
If you want to recieve more information, have
concern about a loved one in a long-term care
facility, or if your organization would like
an I CARE representative to give a presentation
during an organization meeting, contact I CARE
and send
us your name, the name of your organization
(if applicable), your address, and phone number.
I
CARE seeks to protect the rights and liberties
of the elderly and most frail residents of Illinois.
Persons interested in learning more about I
CARE, or wish to become a volunteer advocate,
should contact I CARE at
I
CARE
620 North Walnut
Springfield, IL 62702
Call
toll free: (800) 842-8538
E-mail:
icare@icare.ws
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