My experience as a volunteer Ombudsman
- marymarshall14
- Dec 4, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2025
By: Georgette Shobeiri, Masters in Gerontology Student at CSULB
Did you know that you can volunteer to advocate on behalf of older adults living in long-term care (LTC) facilities? If you’ve ever heard the stories about residents in facilities who may not have family members who are active in their care and think that everyone deserves to have a voice, especially those who can no longer speak up themselves, this may be an opportunity for you.
After taking care of my foster mother, who had early-onset dementia, in my home for six years, she had a seizure and I could no longer care for her safely there so I had to place her in a facility. It was a private home, as that was all she could afford. I learned that it was what is called a six-bed in LTC parlance. It wasn’t the nicest place, but she was well-looked after. I was a frequent visitor and noticed that very few of the other residents ever had someone sign in to visit them. I met the ombudsman for the facility and really appreciated the time she took with me and with my foster mom. I asked her about what she did and, as an undergraduate Sociology major, planning to work with foster youth, thought that her job sounded extremely important and necessary. After all, I was often visiting my foster mom, making sure she had everything she needed, but what about these other people?
Over the years, I feel like I saw just about everything, but I’m sure I didn’t see it all. However, these conversations with my foster mother’s ombudsman and my appreciation of the work she did stuck with me. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in gerontology – the study of aging. My goal was to work with older people, but as I went on, I kept thinking about that ombudsman, Patty. Then I started looking into what it would take to become an ombudsman myself. The Orange County Council on Aging had posted a training program to get trained as a volunteer, and I applied. And was accepted!
To become a volunteer ombudsman in either Los Angeles or Orange County, one prerequisite is that you cannot have worked for a long-term facility in the past year. The mandatory training course takes 36 hours, requires a background check with clearance by the FBI and Department of Justice. The skillset that the trainers are typically seeking are: strong communication, problem-solving, organizational skills, as well as compassion, objectivity, and a flexible schedule.
Some ombudsmen are paid, but nationally, the majority of ombudsmen are volunteers. This is by design, and not necessarily by necessity. The program began under President Nixon in 1971. Dr. Arthur Fleming, U.S. Commissioner on Aging, appointed by President Nixon, initiated the federal LTC Ombudsman program in response to multitudes of reports of abuse and poor quality of care in nursing homes in the 1970s. Although many new laws and regulations were being implemented, Dr. Fleming insisted that they were useless unless the individual’s concerns were addressed. Because many people residing in nursing
homes are essentially powerless, he argued, these regulations were ineffective on their own. For this reason, he stated that legislative efforts must be supported by resident advocacy at the community level, which creates “social capital”. Social capital refers to a network of people collaborating to achieve common goals. And, in this case, the social capital being developed is to protect older adults in our society. The role of an ombudsman is to advocate on behalf of LTC residents. Because of that, some facility workers can be standoffish or even hostile.
As a volunteer ombudsman, I have been assigned to a group of six-bed facilities. My responsibilities are twofold: 1) review each facility on a quarterly basis; and 2) investigate any complaints made by the residents, family members or guardians, or their caregivers. The purpose of reviewing the facilities is to ensure that the facility is being kept in good condition for the residents, that they are sufficiently staffed, and more.
For the most part, my clients are happy. Many light up when they see me. I get the older gentlemen who give me a wink and a not-so-subtle nudge. I see the famous artist whose walls are laden with her paintings and tells me I’m beautiful. I see the cat lady – the woman who dresses head to toe in cat-related clothing and communicates through meowing.
But I also see the other side of things. I see the facility that has only 6 staff to watch over 150 residents. I see the 103-year-old woman in a large facility whose room is farthest from the nurses’ station because she has less money than other residents. I see the one-legged man isolated in his room because his caretakers couldn’t be bothered to purchase a doorstop or fashion one out of a scrap of cardboard. I see the man whose water bottle sits empty next to his bed for days asking for water. I see the woman who is allergic to fish and mushrooms, which is noted in her chart, but her facility still regularly sends her fish and mushrooms to dine on.
I see those things and wonder. If there were a major disaster, how would 6 people be able to assist everyone? Or even if one resident was choking, another was having a heart attack, and another one fell, how would they be prioritized? How can I encourage all facilities to ensure that no one is isolated? How can I help raise the sensitivity of overburdened caretakers who forget that humans need water? How can I make sure that the people preparing food understand how to make substitutions so no one goes hungry or suffers through a reaction? I know I can’t fix everything myself. But hopefully I can make a difference. Although I have only been doing this amazing volunteer work for a short while, it has been an amazing experience for me. I now know that I am doing exactly what I was meant to do. I truly enjoy interacting with the various residents I meet with. It is fulfilling for me that I have
a hand in ensuring that they are in a safe place where they are treated with dignity, and that they are happy.
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