Listen, observe and report
LOREN BENOIT/Press Area Agency on Aging of North Idaho ombudsman regional director Jan Young, left, reads trivia questions with Brenda Henkers in her Bridge at Post Falls apartment Thursday.
Ombudsman Marlene Reineman talks with resident Bruce Savage in the Bridge at Post Falls on Thursday. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
In a studio apartment lit only by Thursday afternoon's winter light, 91-year-old Brenda Henkers answered her door and welcomed two familiar faces inside.
"Come in," she said as she rolled her wheelchair into her living room. "Sit down, grab a chair."
Immediately, Jan Young and Marlene Reineman made themselves comfortable in Henkers' Bridge at Garden Plaza apartment in Post Falls. Reineman said hello to Annie, the cat, while Young began to look over some trivia questions a relative in England sent to Henkers.
"Of course, he loves it if I get one wrong," Henkers said.
Young and Reineman asked how busy Henkers has been, what books she's reading and if she'll be attending a birthday party that afternoon. They're her friends, but they're also ombudsmen with the Area Agency on Aging of North Idaho, and their visits are to ensure that all is well.
"I tell Brenda call me if she needs anything," Young said.
"I’m very comfortable here and anything that I need. I only have to call (the Garden Plaza staff)," she said. “Garden Plaza is very good. You only have to call, and the food’s very good."
It was a good day for Henkers, but if ever she needs a third party to assist with an issue she can't get resolved, she knows the ombudsmen are also just a call away.
"Am I glad that they’re there? Oh yes,” said Henkers, who was an ombudsman herself for 19 years.
Those in the five northern counties who are older than 60 and living in long-term care facilities also have the service of the ombudsmen at their sides.
An ombudsman is a problem-solver who acts as an outside support when an issue arises. The main focus is on the rights, quality of care and quality of life of the residents.
It starts with the simple act of listening.
"Listening is important, always," said George Rodkey, a spry Bridge resident who just celebrated his 95th birthday. "You can't learn if you're always talking."
Rodkey, a retired doctor, serves as the Bridge's resident council president. As one who has spent his life serving others, he has fielded his fair share of complaints, and he realizes that many elderly and disabled people need someone to stand up for them.
"I see that there are a lot of people who don’t have anybody to represent them or speak for them when they can’t. A lot of times physically, they can’t," he said. "A lot of times they’re taken advantage of. (The ombudsmen) fill that gap."
The ombudsmen — the majority of them volunteers — are that voice for the residents.
"It gives me joy to know that I can be an advocate for them,” said Reineman, 69, who has been a volunteer assistant ombudsman for four years. "I leave with hope that I can continue to help them with whatever they’re needing. The main thing is dignity and respect for each and every one of them."
Through observation and mediation, the ombudsmen help resolve the concerns of those residing in assisted living or skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers.
The issues vary with each person, but can include facility care, personal rights, family issues or accessing long-term care. The ombudsmen are generally called in if residents don't feel these issues have been adequately addressed after working with facility staff and administrators.
“Sometimes you’re dealing with some messy stuff,” said Young, the North Idaho regional ombudsman who has been with the program since 2000. “We just tell everyone you have to be professional. We are resident-driven, so a lot of times we do what the resident says. Maybe it’s not the best thing for that resident, but if that resident wants that, then we advocate for the resident. If we feel that they’re making a bad choice, we tell them, ‘You know, your choices have consequences, and this could happen,’ but until your right is taken away, you have that right to make poor choices if you want.”
Young said North Idaho has some great facilities with well-meaning staff, although when dementia, Alzheimer's and behavioral issues are involved, it can compound the work.
"We have lots of things that happen in long-term care. Bad things happen,” she said. "Bad care, neglect, abuse. It happens, and we’re involved with it quite often."
During meetings with ombudsmen, residents are free to speak openly about their issues; the ombudsmen represent no one but the residents they're working to help.
"We’re not the state, so we aren’t regulators, but we focus on residents’ rights," Young said. "They have the same rights you and I have living in the community. How is their care? Are they getting quality care? Are they taken care of?”
The ombudsmen volunteers are trained for 40 hours in the classroom and in the field prior to handling any official cases. All documentation must be court-ready in case of a subpoena.
"We follow them and shadow them for the first six months before we ever allow them to do any kind of investigative work," Young said. "It’s not a regular volunteer job because they’re filling out investigative forms, timesheets, consultations. They’re educating the residents and sometimes the community on different services that are available to them. It’s a lot of work."
The volunteer assistant ombudsmen are held to the same ethics and requirements as paid staff. The program is in need of more volunteers; only three paid staff (two part-time) and 14 volunteers cover the entire Panhandle.
It might be a lot of work, but it's fulfilling work, Reineman said. A plaque was recently presented to Young, volunteer ombudsman coordinator Jan Noyes and volunteer ombudsman mentor Roseanna Lewis for exemplary service and advocacy.
"They're my heroes," Reineman said.
Reineman said she spends an average of two hours per week visiting residents, with whom she has built strong and trusting bonds.
"Who knows what conversation you’re going to have with that one person, something that you have in common,” she said. "Whether it’s a book, travel, family, it could be anything. You always have something you can talk about. We’re family. They consider me as part of the family."
The authority of the ombudsmen comes from the Older Americans Act of 1965, which supports a range of home and community-based services. The ombudsman program in Idaho has been in place since 1978.
Ombudsmen also provide in-service training to facility staff. They can provide public information to community groups regarding senior benefits, residents' rights, Medicare, Medicaid and many other issues.
To volunteer or learn more about the program, call 208-667-3179 x 223, 800-786-5536 or email OMB@aaani.org