Critics: elderly 'forgotten' in budget proposal

Mirror staff

Protests and warnings followed Governor Gary Locke’s proposal this week for a state budget that would eliminate funding for the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Critics said the losing the program may lead to lawsuits if the state fails to protect adults living in nursing homes and other elder-care facilities.

Saving the program’s $1.2 million would be a “penny-wise, pound-foolish” approach to balancing the state budget and would create serious concern for Washington’s institutionalized elders and persons with disabilities, said officials at Multi-Service Center, the Federal Way-based agency that manages the ombudsman program for the state.

MSC won the state contract to administer the ombudsman program in a bidding process.

The program is the first line of protection that frail elderly residents have from abusive situations, according to Kary Hyre, head of the ombudsman services.

Hyre said Locke apparently “has forgotten about the $25 million paid in lawsuits based on its failure to protect vulnerable adults.”

The governor is also ignoring recommendations of state Attorney General Gregoire’s risk management task force “to find ways to prevent mistakes, poor care and inadequate oversight” that has led in past years to “costly” lawsuits against the state, Hyre claimed.

The ombudsman program is as an advocate for residents of care facilities and operates on state and federal funds. Locke, in his proposed state budget that was revealed Tuesday, suggests cutting all state funds. Program officials said most regional ombudsmen programs would have to close if the Legislature approves Locke’s request.

About 500 volunteer ombudsmen statewide receive and investigate about 4,000 complaints each year on issues raised by the 63,000 residents of facilities in Washington and their families, officials said. About 3 percent of the complaints require further investigation by the state Department of Social and Health Services.

There are 2,913 nursing homes and other adult facilities in Washington.

Dini Duclos, chief executive officer of the Multi-Service Center (MSC), said that before the ombudsman program began a few years ago, serious cases of abuse and neglect “were ignored by state oversight agencies. Do we want to return to the days when the ombudsman reports of abuse and neglect were regular features in the news media? How many more residents will die from untreated bedsores, mismanaged care or outright abuse?”

The time that volunteers donate is valued at approximately $500,000, and they take a “huge workload” from the state, Hyre said. “To provide these federally required services through DSHS would demand a staff of highly paid nurses, not to mention the administrative support, travel costs and overhead. The ombudsman program not only saves lives, it saves taxpayer dollars.”

The program also provides independent information to the Legislature and other government on issues affecting seniors and the disabled. “Sometimes we tell legislators and administrators things they don’t want to hear,” said Hyre, “but it is always information and analysis that helps them make good decisions.”

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