What Is a Healthcare Ombudsman? New York Guide for Facilities

New York long-term care facilities have the critical responsibility of supporting their elderly residents to live happy and healthy lives. It’s a challenging job as healthcare administrators juggle the duties of staffing, paperwork, regulatory compliance, and budgeting, which can make it difficult to focus on the care of each individual.

This is exactly why facilities should partner with their local healthcare ombudsman. New York staff and volunteers in the ombudsman’s office help educate, represent, and advocate for every long-term care resident living in a healthcare facility. In this guide, we outline the services provided by the New York state ombudsman program and show how working with your local healthcare ombudsman can boost patient satisfaction scores at your facility.

What Is the New York Ombudsman Program?

The federal Older Americans Act (OAA) requires each state to create a program to advocate for and address the complaints of elderly citizens in long-term care facilities, as well as those of their family members. These facility types include:

• Assisted living facilities
• Nursing homes
• Board and care homes
• Adult day care
• Hospice centers

The New York Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) is in place to support these healthcare residents throughout the state. Making each long-term care resident feel at home in their facility, and focusing on enhancing the quality of life of the individual, is the role of each care ombudsman. New York employs staff and enlists volunteers to help with this program, visiting residents and advocating for their welfare.

The main priority of each ombudsman is to serve the healthcare residents, not governmental agencies or licensing boards. Additionally, New York’s long-term care ombudsmen are not considered to be mandatory reporters of abuse because of confidentiality rules surrounding patient-identifying information. In serving the resident above all else, ombudsman representatives can work at the local, state, and national levels to resolve problems and improve care in long-term facilities.

What Does a New York State Ombudsman Do?

In the state of New York, long-term care ombudsman representatives work to provide oversight for long-term care facilities and ensure high-quality care for all. They do so by:

• Educating residents and their families on the services and resources available to them.
• Advocating for change to improve each individual’s care.
• Communicating among the individual, family, and facility to address complaints and identify possible solutions (these complaints can include issues like neglect, improper discharge planning, quality and choice of food, and poor medication distribution).
• Helping patients and their families choose a healthcare facility that meets their needs.
• Providing information regarding legal rights and policy changes to the public, and suggest changes to governmental agencies when necessary.

These New York state ombudsman office representatives don’t provide direct care to patients, but instead focus on ensuring equal and regular access to state-funded ombudsman resources.

Who Does a Healthcare Ombudsman Work With?

The ombudsman (New York) works directly with the resident, their family members, and administration within the long-term care facility to improve the lifestyle of the individual. The healthcare ally can navigate through challenges among stakeholders by maintaining a level of neutrality, all in an effort to better the life of the patient.

In addition to working directly with unique patient situations, a healthcare ombudsman has frequent interactions with state program directors and political representatives to lobby for healthcare reform and appropriate treatment for the elderly. They represent the patient before governmental agencies, relaying complaints to the New York State Department of Health when necessary.

Collaborating With an Ombudsman: 3 Tips For Facilities

It’s important to remember that a health ombudsman is required to perform annual visits to every long-term care facility to ensure safe and appropriate care. These inspections aren’t meant to be punitive, but are put in place to address patient concerns and help clinicians develop quality care initiatives.

Ensuring that patient care standards fall in line with current CMS guidelines prior to an ombudsman’s visit can save your facility money and time. Looking for additional ways to prepare for ombudsman site visits at your facility? The following three tips can help you optimize time with state ombudsmen and make the visit a positive experience for everyone.

1. Educate members of direct-care staff working in your facility.

Teaching your employees about the role of ombudsmen can help them prepare for site visits. You can disseminate program information by:

• Displaying ombudsman brochures and infographics in facility common areas.
• Posting information on the NY health ombudsman program and nurse practice act on your facility’s nursing webpage.
• Developing an online training module.
• Organizing an in-person classroom training.

2. Provide residents with New York ombudsman contact information.

Encouraging residents to have an active relationship with their health ombudsman can help you build trust and patient engagement. Start by posting the following ombudsman phone number, email, mailing address, and website information for easy reference:

3. Resolve a resident’s complaint before a formal grievance has been filed.

Many complaints can be addressed before they’re even reported to a health ombudsman. New York facility administrators who proactively solicit feedback from patients, family members, and employees can prevent minor concerns from becoming major problems.

Learn More Ways to Support Long-Term Care Residents

To best serve your facility’s residents, it’s important to work with your health ombudsman. New York, along with other states, has aimed to improve the care of its citizens through partnerships with these representatives. You, too, can help improve your residents’ quality of life. Follow along in IntelyCare’s newsletter as we discuss ways to improve the lives of healthcare staff and patients across the nation.

Legal Disclaimer: This article contains general legal information, but it is not intended to constitute professional legal advice for any particular situation and should not be relied on as professional legal advice. Any references to the law may not be current, as laws regularly change through updates in legislation, regulation, and case law at the federal and state level. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. If you have legal questions, you should seek the advice of an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.