State officials are looking for a few good men. Or women. John G. McDermott, the state long-term-care ombudsman, has been crossing the state, looking for volunteers (just five on Kaua‘i, but 700 statewide) willing to go into nursing homes to
State officials are looking for a few good men. Or women.
John G. McDermott, the state long-term-care ombudsman, has been crossing the state, looking for volunteers (just five on Kaua‘i, but 700 statewide) willing to go into nursing homes to be patient advocates.
Since his trip to Kaua‘i in May, he has found no takers on this island.
“Their job is to encourage facilities to do the right thing,” said McDermott, whose position is federally mandated, federally funded, and tied to federal funds that come to the state to assist Hawai‘i’s elderly population.
“We have done several presentations on Kaua‘i in an attempt to recruit volunteers, but we have had no success at this date. It’s discouraging, but we have no intention of quitting,” he said. “Our seniors are counting on us. We really only need six to get started, since Kaua‘i only has five nursing homes and one assistedliving facility,” he continued.
“We don’t have any volunteer representatives assigned to care homes at this time,” he said.
The volunteers he seeks should be willing to make a one-year commitment to be assigned to one of the island’s nursing homes or assisted-living facility (Regency at Puakea), and will get training in the federal Older Americans Act, Medicaid and Medicare systems, and learn how to communicate more effectively, how to advocate, and how to maintain patient confidentiality, he explained.
There is a screening process involved.
“We’re not looking for vigilantes or people with axes to grind.” The volunteers will essentially be the eyes and ears for McDermott’s agency on the island, will be “client-focused,” and will not have the power to fine or revoke licenses.
They will help try to change the label of nursing-home inhabitants from “patients” to “residents,” and McDermott thinks owners and operators of the nursing homes, and, eventually, the island’s care homes, will come to appreciate the advocacy the volunteers will bring.
Nursing-home and care-home residents appreciate visits from younger people, even if they’re only slightly younger, he said.
Some $90,000 in state funds has been appropriated to begin the volunteer program.
Retired military personnel, retired teachers, and retired nurses would likely be well-suited to these kinds of tasks, he feels.
While on Kaua‘i, he met with officials at Hale Kupuna and the county Agency on Elderly Affairs, and had hoped he might be able to tap into the resource that is the 800 volunteers on the list of the island’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), he said.
The five nursing homes on Kaua‘i are at Mahelona Medical Center, Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital at the West Kauai Medical Center, Hale Kupuna Heritage Home, and Kauai Care Center.
“Ombudsman” comes from a Swedish word that means “advocate,” he said. McDermott further advocates for criminal background checks to be conducted for anyone who works with dependent adults (adults who are dependent on others for help in tasks of daily living), because those dependent adults are “so vulnerable.” McDermott’s position is under the state Executive Office on Aging.
He may be reached toll-free at 274-3141, then 6-7268# after the recorded message, or by mail at No. 1 Capitol District, 250 S.
Hotel St., Suite 406, Honolulu, HI 96813-2831.
