HJAR Sep/Oct 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2022 21 We had the opportunity to have a couple of conversations recently with Charlotte Bishop, the state’s long-term care ombudsman. She shared information about her role advocating for residents of long-term care facilities, how people can use this program, problems surrounding unwanted guardianship, and much more. We’re sharing her interview so that you as healers and administrators understand the important role the ombudsman plays and so that you don’t unknowingly create a nightmare scenario for someone you are intending to help. Please tell us about the Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and what an ombudsman does. TheArkansas Long-TermCare Ombuds- man Program is an advocacy program for those residing in long-term care facilities within our state. The ombudsman advo- cates for quality of life, quality of care, and residents’ rights. Our primary goal is to empower the resident to speak for them- selves. When they are not comfortable in doing so, we speak for them, giving them a voice. What made you want to become an ombudsman? On August 21, 2006, I started working for the White River Area Agency on Aging. It was during orientation that I learned of the ombudsman program. As the regional ombudsman was describing the ombuds- man program and the advocacy to those in Arkansas long-term care facilities, I knew then this was the perfect job for me. Since I was very young, I have always loved elders, have always had a respect for their lives and contributions. I looked up to my grandparents, great uncles, and neigh- bors in the community who lived through and told me stories of times during the Great Depression, sharecropping, soldiers serv- ing inWWII, and raising children in poverty. This created my work ethic, my desire to not only listen but hear the things being taught tome and the love of what most call old. Our elders have laid the foundations of our great nation. It takes passion, compassion, empa- thy, and the desire to support them, and that runs deep within yours truly. Is there a difference in Arkansas’ long-term care ombudsman program versus other states? Arkansas’ombudsman program is called a de-centralized program. That means when Arkansas law enacted the ombudsman program along with other older American programs, they were set up to be under the State Unit on Aging, with aging programs carried out through the eight AreaAgencies on Aging within the state. Other states are centralized, which means the ombudsman program requirements are fulfilled either through a legal services program, attorney general office, or internally at the state level. What are the top few challenges you, as ombudsman for our elderly, are seeing in long-term care? 1. Financial exploitation. This is not by the facilities or facility staff but by loved ones, friends, or acquaintances that the resident has previously entrusted to take care of them when needed. 2. Inappropriate guardianships and pow- ers of attorney. 3. Involuntary transfer and discharge notices. Most of these are issued for noncompliance with paying the facil- ity and the long-term care Medicaid application process. Often, these go hand-in-hand with our number one challenge. 4. Residents who are hard to place. Arkansas has a population of those between 30-55 with severe mental issues, and it can be difficult to find an appropriate setting where these resi- dents can find effective treatment. And the struggle can often begin anew at discharge as that can lead directly to a homeless setting. Charlotte Bishop State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Charlotte Bishop calls the little community of Almond home, where she lives with her husband and daughter, the youngest of seven siblings. She has five grandchildren who “obviously hung the moon,” as she lovingly states. Before becoming state ombudsman with the Arkansas Department of Human Services in 2017, she was regional ombudsman for the White River Area Agency on Aging. She has worked in various capacities for elderly advocacy for 16 years. Bishop holds a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and management.