Homepage
-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information Ombudsman program ready to help
by Claire Cox
Whether it is a complaint about the food, or a noisy neighbor,
Berkshire County’s nursing home residents have a friend in need and deed.That friend is a volunteer ombudsman, trained and certified to be
the eyes and ears and confidant for the 2,000 residents in Berkshire
County’s 17 nursing homes and two rest homes.Concerns that may seem trivial to the outsider are taken seriously
by the ombudsmen. They are there as mediators between residents and
administrators, often also speaking for the families of residents but
always committed to looking at both sides of any issue.Specifically, the mission of the volunteers, trained and certified by
the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, is to protect
residents' rights, to provide information, and to advocate for positive
changes in the Long Term Care system.Eighteen trained and state-certified volunteer ombudsmen are
serving in Berkshire County under the supervision of
Dorinda Gamberdella, director of the Berkshire Elder Services
Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, and her assistant, Dermot Sporbert.Elder Services' program is part of a nationwide nursing home
ombudsmen network established by the Federal government in 1973.
Massachusetts has been a pioneer in the field.The term "ombudsman" originated in Sweden in the early 18th
century, when the king appointed a citizen representative he called an
"ombudsman" to Investigate complaints made against his royal officers.
Today, ombudsmen serve as mediators for a variety of organizations,
even newspapers, but none appear to be as widespread as those who
look after the interests of nursing home residents.Gamberella brought to her position a number of years in hotel and
restaurant hospitality, where she learned how to respond to guest
concerns, not unlike to those she hears from nursing home residents..Sporbert, a licensed social worker, is one of the longest serving ombudsmen in
Berkshire County. In his 13 years with the program he has relied on his investigative
experience as a former Pittsfield police officer who dealt with domestic
problems and a wide range of other social issues.Each of the volunteer ombudsmen, visits an assigned nursing
home at least weekly, to chat with residents, check to make sure that
they are receiving proper care and encourage organizing activities such
as visits by children and pets and musical programs. They work closely
with nursing and rest home administrators, the Massachusetts
Department, of Public Health, and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs to
ensure that the rights and dignity of all nursing home residents are respected."The residents’ problems are wide ranging," Sporbert said. "It could
be some simple thing, such as they are getting tea instead of the
requested chocolate milk, all the way up to whether they have been
waiting a long time for a response to their call bell."Sporbert has been able to mediate some of the many "the food is
too cold" concerns. In one instance, he found that the door on an insulated meal
delivery cart was ajar, leaving the food to cool. He arranged for the cart
to be kept closed between deliveries. In another case, he found that
insulated food trays were defective, which led to an order by the management
for new reliable replacements."I get personal satisfaction," he says, "when something is completed
and everyone is happy that it has been taken care of – the family, the
residents and the nursing home. That makes me feel good."Marianne Lewis, a retired nurse with experience as an ombudsman
in Florida as well as the Berkshires, says that "we are an in-between
voice, between the patient and the management. We take no sides with
either management or patient. We try to be a totally neutral person, an
ombudsman in the true sense of he word. But we advocate for patients."If you are in a nursing home and you are all alone and you may not
have a family who speaks for you, a resident has someone to turn to
who provides a sense of security, and you know I am there every week,
and if there are issues the resident will take that up with me. I get a
great deal of personal satisfaction out of doing this. I love being welcomed."As an example of how an ombudsman can brighten a life, she
recounted that in making her rounds one day, she noted that a resident’s
shoes were becoming worn so she mentioned it to a social worker. The
next time Lewis visited, the social worker reported she had taken the
resident downtown for a new pair of shoes."That gave me a lot of satisfaction," Lewis said.
In describing her duties, she emphasized that ombudsmen are
instructed not to have any personal contact with residents, including
pushing a wheelchair or helping with a hair ribbon."We get an aide to do whatever is needed," she explained. "We are
to talk to them and observe and seek solutions for their concerns."Gamberdella said that the ombudsman program in the Berkshires
has grown "beyond expectations" with more mediations between
residents and administrations and a commitment to assign two
ombudsmen to each facility.To meet these increases, Elder Services of Berkshire County has
scheduled a training program for ombudsman volunteers from 9:30 am
to 3:30 pm on April 14, 15 and 16 at Elder Services, 66 Wendell Avenue
in Pittsfield. For information and to apply, call Gamberdella at 413-236-1726.