A group that works to give residents of assisted living facilities and nursing homes a voice in Manatee and Hillsborough counties is looking for help.
While most facilities are top notch, sometimes problems arise.
When they do, a group of volunteers with the Florida Ombudsman program is there to help.
The group reports that nearly 60 percent of residents do not receive visits from family members and friends, and are often alone.
This is where volunteers step in and give residents a voice, when it comes to their health, safety and general concerns.
“If a resident has a problem or if family member has a problem with the care of the resident, they can call our office and they will send one of us to investigate the complaint,” said Donald Courtney, who serves as chairman of the West Central Council, Florida Ombudsman Program. “The complaint can be anonymous.”
Under the Department of Elder Affairs, the group oversees 385 facilities. However, they only have 22 volunteers, and they are now looking for more.
Volunteers receive three days of training and need to get certified before they can start doing assessments.
All are assigned to three or four facilities. Once a year, they go to each facility for an assessment to make sure the facilities are meeting all of the residents’ needs.
Find out how you can help at ombudsman.myflorida.com.