Long Term Care Services of Ventura County Inc., Ombudsman Program

The Ventura County Ombudsman Program is founded on the principle that elderly persons unable to care for themselves are entitled to dependable and consistent care.

The Ventura County Ombudsman Program's mission is to assure the highest quality of life and care possible for those elderly persons in long term care--most of whom are frail and vulnerable and unable to represent themselves.

Description:
To become an Ombudsman requires a comprehensive and intense training and a strong commitment to our elderly. The Ombudsman must complete 36 hours of classroom training, 15 hours of field service and 12 hours a year of continuing education to be certified and retain certification by the State of California.

This specialized training equips him or her to investigate, and resolve complaints on behalf of elderly residents and handle the myriad of problems that may arise in long term care settings. For problems that cannot be resolved onsite or involve serious neglect or abuse, the Ombudsman enlists the help of licensing agencies, law enforcement and the District Attorney.

The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program’s goal is to be the ever-present supporter, representative, advocate, and in many cases, the extended family member and friend to the frail residents living in long term care so that we may continue to bring strong effective advocacy and support services that help ensure a higher quality of life for this vulnerable neglected population - a group whose numbers are expected to double in the next ten years.
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History:
Two members of the National Council of Jewish Women began the Ombudsman Program in Ventura County in 1981. Based on the founding principle that elderly persons unable to care for themselves are entitled to dependable and consistent care, the Ombudsman’s (an old Swedish word meaning advocate) mission is to assure the highest quality of life and care possible for the frail elderly in long term care.

With a small grant to get started, the founders, one staff member, and two volunteers began monitoring the 17 nursing facilities in Ventura County and advocating for decent care and quality of life for their 1,482 elderly residents. In the early 80’s, long-term care was a frustrating and saddening experience for the frail elderly who required it, and they desperately needed an advocate. In 1988 the founders incorporated Long Term Care Services of Ventura County, Inc., a 501 (C) (3) non-profit charitable agency to administer the program. In 1991 the Ventura County Ombudsman program was named a model program by the State of California for its outstanding efforts on behalf of institutionalized elderly.

What makes Ventura County’s program so outstanding (besides its many support services) is its facility visitation plan. The Federal mandate governing the Ombudsman program nationwide requires only one annual visit per facility, however, the founders foreseeing the built-in failure in such a deficient model, set a mandate for Ventura County that stipulated all skilled nursing facilities would be monitored a minimum of once a week and all assisted living facilities a minimum of once a month. This mandate has continued uninterrupted, and today four staff and 45 volunteers actively advocate for decent care and quality of life for 8,500 frail elderly in Ventura County’s 234 long term care facilities – 60% of whom have no family or friends to watch out for them or visit them and are too fearful, vulnerable or frail to represent themselves.

Contact people:

Sylvia Taylor-Stein, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Kathy Terry, Field Services Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (805) 658-8540

Address:

2021 Sperry Avenue, Suite 35 Ventura, CA 93003 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.OmbudsmanVentura.org

Directions:

From 101 exit going south onto Victoria Avenue. Turn right on Valentine and left onto Sperry Avenue. Turn right into the third driveway.

Last updated on June 30, 2010