TIPS
FOR
OMBUDSMAN PRACTICE
In order to fully participate in planning care and treatment, residents may need information and support. Ombudsmen can be helpful to residents and their families in a number of ways.1 Encourage residents to attend their care-planning meeting. Help them prepare by identifying their needs and goals as well as potential strategies and options. If necessary, help them get the information they need before the meeting such as their current care plan or medication orders. Let them know that a family member or you may be present during the meeting, and that they can request a care-planning time that allows the family to attend. Advocate for care planning to be conducive to resident participation. Ask questions if professional jargon is used instead of language that everyone understands. Be sure the resident’s voice is solicited, heard, and respected. If necessary, direct the staff to talk with the resident instead of speaking about the resident in the third person as if the resident were not present. Ask for options, alternatives, and/or more information if there are differences that need to be resolved. Ask whether the resident understands and agrees with the care plan. Be sure the care plan is specific enough to know if it is being followed and who is responsible for implementing each section.
1 More information can be found in: S. Hunt and S. Burger, Using Resident Assessment and Care Planning As Advocacy Tools: A Guide for Ombudsmen and Other Advocates, National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, July 1992, updated November 1995.