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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, June 29, 2009 County long-term care prorgram seeks ombudsmen Kristi O'Harran Herald Writer An agency with a long name has a simple mission: The Snohomish County Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program helps vulnerable adults. Ombudsmen volunteer to protect the rights of residents of long-term care facilities including adult family homes, boarding homes and nursing homes, enabling residents and their families to get high quality, compassionate care. They need more helpers. A training session is planned for July 14-15 and 21-22 in Lynnwood. For more information, call Michal Glauner at 425-388-7393 or e-mail michal.glauner@co.snohomish.wa.us. Glauner, regional long term care ombudsman with Snohomish County Human Services, said they hope to train 20 new volunteers at the July and October sessions. Those who become an ombudsman will listen to concerns and questions while they work with residents, families, staff, agencies and other organizations to resolve problems. Volunteers are asked to give four hours a week after 40 hours of training to become a certified long-term care ombudsman in Snohomish County. Most have compassion for older adults and those with disabilities, Glauner said. Ombudsman Gene Underwood visits adult family homes in the Silver Lake area. "I was looking for a volunteer opportunity after I retired," Underwood said. " I saw the ombudsman training involved visiting adult family homes." His father had been in an adult home so he had experience, he said. "As I learned more about the program and being a resident's advocate, I could see the necessity of volunteering for this position. I have really enjoyed visiting the residents that have ranged in age from the early 20s to 105." He said he hopes that he is making a difference for them. When retiree Larry Whatley tackles questions for his clients, he searches for the truth in the matter. "Harriet Doeer, a late-in-life author, observed that, 'One of the most interesting things about aging is watching imagination overtake memory,' " Whatley said. "My father unabashedly made full use of this, and I see older residents in the homes I visit doing it." He said to find solutions to problems, he works with the home's owner, caregivers, guardians, attorneys, state agencies, or some combination, to improve the day to day lives of residents. "So the selfish reason for why I would want to do this volunteering is that the people are interesting and the problems are good challenges. They are fun -- or not, in some cases; but even those are usually gratifying in the result." Whatley said a less selfish reason for volunteering is giving back, a cliche that happens to be true. He visits adult family homes and a boarding home licensed to serve residents with dementia and mental health afflictions. Helping arrange an improvement in their lives is fun and gratifying, he said. "I may not have 'stretched' to this volunteer work if not for my son's and daughter's experiences: They were volunteers for the Special Olympics programs one summer and brought home the stories." The need for more ombudsmen is great. Give it a stretch. Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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