The Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care, a program of the Minnesota Board on Aging, recognized 46 Certified Ombudsman Volunteers statewide, including six from the Brainerd area, at a June event in Duluth.
Local volunteers honored at the June event included Pat Loban of Pine River, Patricia McCormick of Merrifield, Jim Sowles and Lois Sowles of Aitkin, Kelli Turcotte of Brainerd and Lois Tyrrell of Wadena.
"Our highly trained, dedicated volunteers donated a total of 4,092 hours this past year to help solve problems of people living in nursing homes and other long-term care settings and make a difference in these individuals' lives," said Cheryl Hennen, Minnesota's State Ombudsman for Long-Term Care, in a news release. "This is a critical service that helps to ensure that individual values, preferences and rights are preserved throughout the health care continuum."
Each regional ombudsman and volunteers work with consumers of long-term care. The ombudsman office helps to resolve disputes, complaints and problems relating to quality of care and services, quality of life, rights violations, access to services, service termination, discharge or eviction or public benefit programs.
For more information on volunteering or to reach an ombudsman, contact the Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care at 651-431-2555 or 800-657-3591.
