Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A new grant will double the number of advocates who fight on behalf of local nursing home residents and their families.

The Area Agency on Aging 1-B is a non-profit that serves older adults and family caregivers in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Washtenaw Counties. It provides services, programs, and resources that are designed to help seniors age safely and independently.

AAA 1-B was awarded a grant totaling $386,188 from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. It will allow the agency to hire three additional long-term care ombudsmen, which monitor complaints lodged by residents of licensed long-term care facilities, primarily nursing homes, and their families. Other licensed long-term care models include adult foster care homes and homes for the aged.

The three ombudsmen who staff the program at the AAA 1-B are among just 20 throughout Michigan. The trio monitors 140 long-term care facilities in the six-county region. Last year they fielded 1,100 complaints from families alone.

AAA 1-B Director of Planning and Advocacy Katie Wendel tells WHMI ombudsman are neutral 3rd party advocates who advocate on behalf of residents to make sure their quality of care and quality of life are up to par. She says they explain resident rights to residents and their families but also empower residents to communicate any concerns and help resolve them.

Wendel said it’s a really valuable program for older adults in those settings and has been around for a long time but Michigan’s has been chronically underfunded. She said the nationally recommended minimum is one ombudsman for every 2,000 facility beds - Michigan has had one for every 5,150 beds.

Wendel said the state has been really far behind, so they’ve been advocating and working to increase support for the program to offer a higher level of service. She says they applied and received the grant, which will enable them to double the program in the six-county region they serve.

Wendel says they’ll hire three additional ombudsman to demonstrate what the program could look like if they were operating at 1 per a 2,000-bed ratio and show the higher level of service can improve outcomes for residents of long term facilities.

Wendel stressed the ombudsman are highly trained and have lots of experience helping facility residents resolve their concerns. She says they do routine visits to facilities to check in and make sure residents are satisfied with their care, but also receive complaints or concerns from residents or family members.

If something is going on, Wendel says they can reach out directly to the ombudsman. She said that’s how many people interact with the program - if they have a concern and are looking for someone to help. Wendel said ombudsman are that resource and can work with the resident and facility to come to a resolution to any concerns that supports that resident’s quality of life.

More information is available in the attached release and provided link. Wendel was also a featured guest on WHMI’s Viewpoint program. That link is also provided.