Maryland Ombudsman Project

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Five Facts About Anti Reform Mobs"><U><IMG SRC="0410b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>       <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Clare Whitbeck's Web Site</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Clare Whitbecks Web Site"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> back to                                                     </div> <div> Maryland Ombudsman Project</div> <div> For immediate release: 4/30/09</div> <bR> <div>    Voice for Quality Care (Voices) announces the formation of the Maryland Ombudsman Project.  The purpose of the Project is to vigorously pursue all possible methods of implementing the recommendations of Health Benefits ABC's review of the Maryland Ombudsman Program entitled, A Plan for Excellence for the Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program as written. </div> <bR> <div>    Project Facilitator Clare Whitbeck commented, “This new organization, Maryland Ombudsman Project, is truly needed.  According to Health Benefits ABCs (HBABCs), the Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman program has many needs. Their report says, `the program is seen by knowledgeable observers as “uneven,” “inconsistent,” “erratic,” and “unsystematic.”   It says elsewhere, `Missing in the program is consistency and the assurance that every resident, in each facility in the State, can expect equally useful, assertive representation.'  The Maryland Ombudsman Project (MOP) plans to assist the Department of Aging in implementing the recommendations made by Health Benefits ABCs.”</div> <bR> <div>     Whitbeck continued, “More than 10 years ago, a similar review of the Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program was conducted.  As recently as two years ago, the Department of Aging said it was withholding the results of that review, because, it said, the review was still under consideration.  Fearing a similar end for this $40,000 review, Voices formed the Maryland Ombudsman Project to prevent the waste of the taxpayer dollars spent to produce the Plan for Excellence”</div> <bR> <div>    Whitbeck noted that in December of 2007, Voices produced a report which showed that the Maryland Long-term Care Ombudsman Program was in need of attention by the Maryland Department of Aging.  Nine months later, the Department of Aging solicited bids for a review of the Program and hired Health Benefits ABCs to perform the review.  Many of the findings of the Health Benefits report were the same as those found in the Voices report.  According to the Health Benefits report, “The Maryland statutory provision that the Secretary may delegate responsibility of the program may conflict with the Older Americans Acts.”   The report makes 38 recommendations for improvement, many of which have zero cost and could be implemented with little effort according to Whitbeck. </div> <bR> <div> “The Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman is responsible for answering complaints from nursing home and assisted living residents, and for protecting their rights,” said Whitbeck,   “Residents and families call the Voices need line (1-888-600-2375) with complaints on a regular basis. We hear the complaints and n to be able to refer them to the local long-term care ombudsmen in every jurisdiction.  We can't do that now, but hope to be able to refer to every local ombudsman program in the near future.”</div> <bR> <div> The new Health Benefits ABCs report and the original Ombudsman Program Report written by Voices for Quality Care are available to the public on the Voices for Quality Care web site at this address:  http://voicesforqualitycare.org/id176.htm" <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://voicesforqualitycare.org/id176.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://voicesforqualitycare.org/id176.ht"><U><U>http://voicesforqualitycare.org/id176.htm</U></U></A></FONT></div> </td> </tr></table></body>