MS and ME Ombudsmen Interviewed

MS, ME Ombudsmen interviewed about NHQI

An article in the Mississippi Business Journal about the federal Nursing Home Quality Initiative highlighted the work of the State’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program relative to the initiative.  Anniece McLemore, Mississippi State Ombudsman, stated that the ombudsman office had “received quite a few telephone calls concerning the initiative, what it means, and how it is going to affect the quality of care in nursing homes,” and that the role of the ombudsman is to “help with consumer education and the quality improvement process.”  McLemore pointed out that the initiative, while “very much needed,” is not the only source of information out there.  She stressed that people should visit the home they are considering and call the ombudsman program.  McLemore said that the ombudsman program provides helpful information since it is the “only outside government source that goes into nursing homes regularly.”  Source: Mississippi Business Journal, 12/12/02

The Maine Portland Press Herald also mentioned the ombudsman program in an article about the initiative.  Maine State Ombudsman Brenda Gallant told reporters that making a decision about a nursing home happens most often in the middle of a health-care crisis, when it’s hard to be a careful consumer.  “Families really know very little about long-term care, and then grandma breaks her hip.  We typically get a call that says, ‘She has to go into a nursing home, how do I make a judgment?’”  Like McLemore, she advises people to visit a facility before placing a family member in it.  Gallant also told reporters that staffing problems are a factor in most of the complaints received by the ombudsman’s office and reimbursement rates are just part of the problem.  “This is difficult work,” she said.  “People’s needs are great.”  Source: Portland Herald Press, 11/14/02