Mission
Statement
The mission of the Arkansas Ombudsman Program is to assure that long term
care facility residents have the right to live their lives harmoniously
and with dignity, feeling free to voice complaints or concerns without
reprisal.
The Ombudsman strives to be a trusted
advocate for all residents by educating them regarding their rights; empowering
residents to speak for themselves; while providing advocacy for those without
a voice.
Through regular visitations the Ombudsman
seeks to enhance the quality of life for long term care residents by the
investigation of complaints and interacting with both residents and staff
to facilitate the resolution of the problem.
As a Regional Ombudsman for WRAAA’s 10
county area, I visit 22 Skilled Nursing Facilities, 2 Assisted Living Facilities,
9 Residential Care Facilities and 1 hospital based Recuperative Care unit.
Two out of the 9 Residential Care Facilities are 
special facilities: one serving veterans only and the other serving mentally
ill residents.
All of these facilities are visited regularly
in addition to the on-site visits for care plan meetings, resolution of
any concerns and complaints, state survey participation, attendance in
resident and family council meetings as a speaker, staff in-service speaker,
community education via workshops, telephone assisted inquiries, and execution
of the Certified Volunteer Ombudsman Program are all included as part of
the Regional Ombudsman’s duties.
The Volunteer Ombudsman program in WRAAA’s
area, Region II, is growing at a rapid pace. Our State Ombudsman
is Kathie Gately who is energizing the volunteer program by having a goal
of one Certified Volunteer Ombudsman in each skilled facility as well as
Assisted Living and Residential Care facility. Having a presence
in a facility on a more regular basis than 
the Regional Ombudsman can provide will enhance the quality of care and
quality of life that residents’ are entitled to.
In June of 2006, WRAAA had its first volunteer
training which included one day of classroom and 12 hours of a training
practicum in a nursing home. Upon passing the classroom written test
and completing the practicum, the trainee is certified. A year
later, the Ombudsman program in Region II has partnered with Harding University
in Searcy to incorporate the Ombudsman training program into their 4 year
nursing curriculum. Classes for the Fall 2007 yielded 28 nursing
students. Upon completion of the training and practicum, these students
will have an Ombudsman’s perspective about day to day life of a resident
and will be able to use this knowledge and experience in their nursing
career.
