Kansas Long-Term Care Ombudsmen are advocates for residents rights. Paid and volunteer staff work to protect the quality of life and quality of care for Kansans who live in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home plus facilities.
Ombudsman do not regulate long-term care facilities, but they do work with residents, their families, providers and other agencies to resolve problems and concerns.
Some of the ways ombudsmen help long-term care residents include:
- Advocating for person-centered approaches by providers to meet the needs and honor the preferences of residents;
- Working to resolve complaints and issue on behalf of residents.
- Telling residents about their rights.
- Providing information and support for resident and family councils.
- Helping residents and families learn about long-term care.
- Working to to bring about change that improves care at the local, state, and national levels.
It is hard to imagine having a loved one go to a setting where no one knows anything about them,
or even who the people are that are important to them.
This is a simple way to provide some peace of mind and also help our heavily burdened healthcare workers provide the best support and care.