Long-term care ombudsmen play an important role. They serve as resident advocates and monitor conditions in facilities. And with the growing number of older adults in long-term care, there’s also a need for more ombudsman staff and volunteers.
Nationally, nearly 5,400 Ombudsman program staff and volunteers, including in Arizona, assisted half a million residents and their families in 2023.
The Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act, a national piece of legislation, would improve the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program by establishing categories of duties and training requirements for ombudsman volunteers. It would also study and update the staffing ratio of ombudsmen to long-term care facility beds.
In 1995, a report recommended a staffing ratio of one ombudsman per 2,000 beds. That has not been updated in the nearly 30 years since.
