The women aren't in their usual spot, sitting in the chairs arranged in the small lounge area of their floor at the Sunrise assisted living facility on Hunter Mill Road in Oakton. There is talking and laughing coming from Peggy Corrigan's room, however, so Jon McKenzie knocks on the door.
Inside the women are watching the Senior British Open and immediately start talking golf with McKenzie. After chatting for a while, McKenzie decides to check on Odny Dale and the pair talk about McKenzie's future trip to Scandinavia and Dale's life growing up in Norway with her family during World War II.
A little later, McKenzie stops to chat with Larry Selwyn, who is sitting on a couch watching television on the main floor. The conversation is mostly jokes hurdled back and forth between the retired principal and McKenzie, an advocate with the Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
"He's very good," Selwyn said of McKenzie. "He gets results. You have to study the situation here. We're the residents and we're supposed to be totally looked after here."
That's what McKenzie, a Fairfax resident, does for four hours each week — spending three hours at the Sunrise on Hunter Mill and an hour at a Sunrise facility on Blake Lane, also in Oakton — talking with residents, checking to make sure they do not have any problems. And while he's there, making sure the facility is providing the proper care and maintaining a safe and clean environment for the residents.
"I go through the entire facility to see how it looks and if I see something, I'll complain," said McKenzie, a retired program manager for AT&T and former naval officer. "If someone tells me a problem, I encourage them to go through their care giver."
THE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM assigns volunteers to a local nursing or assisted-living facility to investigate concerns and to try to resolve conflicts. The volunteers devote four hours per week visiting their facilities, getting to know the residents and staff, and generally just checking things out.
"You get to know the residents so you can establish a relationship of trust," said Loudoun County resident Paula Boyd, an ombudsman since November. "You get to know the residents so they'll feel free to talk to you with any of their difficulties."
The volunteers go through an initial three-day training session, which includes learning about residents' rights, long-term health-care needs, how to communicate with people with physical or mental impairments and compliant handling. There are also periodic in-service training sessions.
"Sometimes residents have complaints, but they don't want us to make a big deal about it, but just want to talk about it," said Boyd, who is assigned to Tall Oaks in Reston. "I'll go to the liaison at the facility with the problems I see or if the residents give me permission to say something."
Generally, the ombudsman is only obligated to speak up on behalf of the residents in the case of neglect, abuse, exploitation or safety issues. Other complaints made by the residents are held in confidence, unless the resident gives the ombudsman permission to approach the facility staff. Instead, the ombudsman encourages the residents to speak up for themselves either by telling a health-care provider or a family member.
The ombudsman can also report problems or concerns he or she sees first hand, such as poor lighting in a hallway, torn carpeting or even call assistance buttons that can't be reached by bedridden residents.
"At first I use to get complaints about the food. The vegetables were too mushy or not mushy enough. The room isn't warm enough, or it is too warm. But I learned that is going to happen when you have so many different people to try and please," said McKenzie, a two-year volunteer. "It's a joy to be here. Once in a while I find problems and management takes care of it. I haven't seen any real problems."
THIRTEEN YEARS AGO, John McMillien was looking for a volunteer opportunity that allowed him to stay active with people. The more he learned about being an ombudsman, the more he liked it. Now he serves as an ombudsman mentor, helping new volunteers starting out in their facilities.
"The great part of the program is interacting with the residents and encouraging them to advocate for themselves. Many don't know how to speak up for themselves," said McMillien, an Alexandria resident. "Just walking around and saying hi is building up a rapport and getting them to open up."
The mentor program is a new initiative for the program, so McMillien is learning along with the new volunteers. In general, McMillien makes himself available if an ombudsman has a problem and he periodically calls his charges to see how they are doing at their facilities.
"They have had their training and there is on-going training as long as they are in the field," McMillien said. "I think the program is worth it, for the residents and the nursing centers. Sometimes, we see things they don't see. It's not an adversarial relationship."
Boyd said her experience has been positive and says of Tall Oaks, "I would put my mother there."
In many cases, the ombudsman is simply someone for the residents to talk to, especially for those who have been relocated to be closer to family.
"Some just want someone to talk to. They're lonely. They miss their friends and activities back home," Boyd said. "But my role isn't to just be a friendly visitor. It's to build a relationship of trust so they can come to us.
"I learn a lot from them. They have wonderful stories," Boyd said. "It's a wonderful thing and a necessary thing. It's nice to make a difference in someone's life."
For more information about the program or to apply to become an ombudsman, call 703-324-5435.