Spotting an older man in a wheelchair at the long-term wing of the Manor Care Fair Oaks Facility in Fairfax, Al Carver leans down and exchanges a few words before continuing his preliminary inspection walk through the facility.
“One of the things they teach you is that when you talk to someone in a wheelchair, you have to get down to their level,” said Carver, 65, a volunteer resident ombudsman at the facility. “That’s very important because it puts them right in line with you.”
Carver, a retired federal attorney, spends about four hours a week at the facility fulfilling the duties that he has had since joining the Northern Virginia volunteer ombudsman program nearly three years ago. Those duties include routine weekly inspections, meetings with residents and their families and weekly conferences with the facility staff.
“When I retired, one of the things I wanted to do was get involved in volunteering,” said Carver. “You really have the opportunity to make a difference and care for folks with this job … especially those who don’t always have the ability to speak for themselves.”
AS AN OMBUDSMAN, it is Carver’s job to be an independent advocate who hears complaints and quality of life concerns from residents and their families in order to mediate resident concerns with the administrative staff of a senior living facility.
“We wish it weren’t necessary, but the delivery of long-term care is very complex and involves many variables,” said Nancy Cavicke, the volunteer ombudsman coordinator for Northern Virginia. “Even though there are state and federal regulations [for long-term care facilities] … there is plenty of room for the rights and concerns of senior residents to fall by the wayside.”
The Northern Virginia program, which Cavicke helps manage, covers 103 long-term facilities and nursing homes in Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and the City of Alexandria. It was established in 1985 and is presently staffed by 67 volunteers and six paid staff members who make weekly trips to facilities.
As per state law, the ombudsman program staff cannot file a lawsuit against a facility it believes to be in violation of severely dismissive of residents’ rights, but can report such incidences to the state and federal inspectors.
“I think it’s a very positive relationship … and one that adds to the overall quality of the facility,” said John Mitchell, head administrator of the Manor Care Fair Oaks facility. “In this industry, there’s a lot of trauma, there’s perceived loss of freedom, possible loss of finances, the loss of health, and those things can be very traumatic. … The ombudsman on site provides help in dealing with that transition by advocating for residents and their families.”
WHILE CARVER NOTED that his relationship with facility administration is usually very friendly, it’s the little things that make all the difference.
“One of the things that we do is we look for quality of life issues,” Carver said. “Whether that be something like a particular type of food that is requested or to make sure that the resident is getting woken at the appropriate time.”
As the ombudsman for the Manor Care Fair Oaks Facility, Carver has provided assistance and support for residents and their families as they adjust to their new living conditions, said Ann Young, a Burke resident whose husband has been in long-term care at the Manor Care location for two years.
“When we were concerned about rules and regulations there, [Carver] was there to explain to our family [my husband’s] rights,” said Young. “Especially for my daughter who wasn’t very comfortable at first with the arrangement at the facility … it’s been a big help.”
For Carver, the most important thing is to make sure that the residents are getting the care that they and their families expect.
“Being able to advocate for residents when there’s a need, speaking with them … you can really feel like you’ve accomplished something,” he said. “You get some gratification in the sense that you’re doing something to make a positive difference, and that can me a lot to someone in long-term care.”