Elder ombudsman needs volunteers
August 02, 2009, 3:00 AM
To the Editor:
I was very pleased to see Jessica Driscoll's excellent July 27 article about one of the New Jersey Office of the Elder Ombudsman's excellent volunteers, Andrew McCray of Monroe Township.
As the state's elder ombudsman, my goal is to advocate for the rights of all residents of long-term care facilities. This includes investigating allegations of abuse and neglect and helping to resolve individual complaints or concerns raised by residents.
Volunteer advocates like McCray play an absolutely critical role in ensuring that the concerns of elderly residents living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are heard. They are the "eyes and ears" of the ombudsman's office.
That is the good news. The bad news is that I don't have enough of these individuals to cover all of the elder care facilities for which my office is responsible. The need for new volunteers is particularly acute in southern New Jersey.
This fall, my office plans to conduct training in the Gloucester County area for new volunteers. They undergo 32 hours of specialized training and are required to visit their assigned facility once a week.
I hope that inspirational stories like that of Andrew McCray will result in many more volunteers. And so, I would urge anyone interested in participating in the Volunteer Advocate program to contact our volunteer coordinator, Joann Cancel, at (877) 582-6995.
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