The New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the independent state agency “dedicated to the mission of advancing the rights, dignity, and self-determination of adults living in long-term care, including nursing homes, assisted living, and residential health care facilities,” is hosting an online “Open Discussion on Resident and Family Councils in Long-Term Facilities” on Thursday, November 9, from 6 to 7:15 p.m.
Residents, loved ones, and long-term care providers are encouraged to attend the LTCO webinar to learn more about the role of resident and family councils, which advocate for those in long-term care facilities by communicating feedback and issues to management.
Attendees from all backgrounds will hear presentations from council members and a care provider representative about what these entities do, why they matter, and how to form or join one, as well as participate in an open forum for community members to share their own experiences “serving on or establishing” such groups.
According to the official LTCO website, nj.gov/ooie, by actively participating in shared meetings, or “care conferences,” the advisory bodies — whether an expression of personal autonomy or comprised of family members who, with consent, organize on behalf of an individual — address topical concerns and find resolutions that respect residential rights.
As the press release explains, “both councils can be important advocates by voicing concerns; identifying and requesting needed improvements; supporting new residents and their families; and working with facilities to foster better care and a higher quality of life for the individuals who live there.”
FACE NJ, or Family Advocate Care Experience NJ, is a private Facebook group aimed at connecting caregivers, family members, and advocates of “loved ones” in long-term care facilities with a community built around mutual support and education. The FACE NJ page, which can be found at facebook.com/groups/facenj, was originally launched in July 2020 in response to COVID-19 care concerns and has since grown to over 1,400 members.
To register for the free webinar, see the Zoom link at the NJLTCO website, nj.gov/ooie. For more information on the program, visit the same state page or contact ombudsman@ltco.nj.gov or 1-877-582-6995.
The current New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman is Laurie Facciarossa Brewer. Prior to her appointment by Governor Phil Murphy in March 2019, she served as the LTCO chief of staff for nine years. According to her biography on the LTCO website, during this time, “she oversaw a dramatic increase in the LTCO Volunteer Advocate program, obtained federal funding to help transition people out of nursing homes, and streamlined the intake and investigations process to improve LTCO response times.”
In addition, “as Ombudsman, she has helped shepherd legislation to reform the state’s long-term care system in the wake of the COVID-19 [pandemic], successfully lobbied for an LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights, and created a federally funded Social Isolation Project designed to address the needs of residents of long-term care facilities hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.”
Brewer graduated from Rowan University, then known as Glassboro State College, with a bachelor’s in communications and journalism. She worked as a newspaper reporter before amassing over 20 years of experience across the nonprofit and government sectors, including serving as the director of communications for the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate and the director of public affairs for the Department of Human Services.
According to the history section of the state program website, New Jersey’s Ombudsman program began in the late 1970s under the name of the New Jersey Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly, or NJOOIE, which its web domain still retains.
The New Jersey state legislature decided to sign the law “in recognition of the fact that while institutionalized elderly ‘possess the same civil and human rights as members of every other age group, such rights may be far more difficult for certain of the elderly to secure since such persons may be afflicted with physical or mental infirmities, deprived of the comfort and counsel of family and friends, and forced to exist with minimal economic resources.’”
The federal “Older Americans Act” the following year required each state to have a designated LTCO program aimed at servicing adult residents in the long-term care system, and/or their caregivers, with resources to rely on and ensure their equal treatment. The NJOOIE’s official title was then changed to the New Jersey Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman in 2017.
As the LTCO website continues, its office also plays a key role in “investigating allegations of abuse, neglect, exploitation, crime, and serious bodily injury of individuals living in a long-term care facility,” doing so for environments and programs like “adult family care homes, assisted living facilities, residences, and programs, nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, social day care centers for the elderly and adult medical day care centers, veteran’s hospitals, the independent living section of continuing care treatment communities,” and more.
For more information on how to file a complaint by phone, mail, or online form, see the LTCO contact page at nj.gov/ooie/contact.shtml.
The state legislature enacted another program, the Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, in December 2017. Governor Chris Christie signed the initiative into law, and Governor Phil Murphy appointed the first Ombudsman, Paul Aronsohn — who also serves on President Biden’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, a federal advisory group — in April 2018.
