The old man was lying in bed, asleep with mouth open and no teeth. A single light bulb hung over his head. It made John Stilz angry then, and it still motivates him 25 years later.
As the East King County Ombudsman for Long-Term Care, Stilz and his team of 15 volunteers advocate and mediate for residents of assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. They currently resolve about 100 issues a year.
“Our job is to help people who need it, and offer a voice,” said Stilz. “It’s very, very rewarding to see a situation improved.”
Retired from a professional background as a surveyor of health care facilities, Stilz wanted to do something positive. Three years ago, he completed a Solid Ground training program and became a long-term care volunteer ombudsman. After six months, he was hired by Solid Ground to act as a professional ombudsman and coordinate the volunteer advocates serving all Eastside communities.
According to Stilz, there are 42 assisted-living facilities, only nine of which are covered by volunteer ombudsmen. Of 16 nursing homes in the area, seven have assigned advocates. And that doesn’t include the 125 adult family homes in Bellevue alone. Most of these homes aren’t represented by volunteer ombudsmen.
“If we don’t have volunteers to cover a facility, our oversight gets stretched thin,” said Stilz. “Clearly we need more volunteers to support this vital work.”
Volunteer ombudsmen complete a four-day workshop, and then are assigned a facility in their community. Typically volunteers commit four hours a week, engaging with residents and staff at their assigned property.
The variety of interaction between residents, staff and family never ceases to surprise Stilz. One group of residents, for example, was continually frustrated by a dining room clock set 15 minutes fast. For some reason, the staff wasn’t hearing the concern.
“I spoke to the administrator, and the clock was immediately corrected,” said Stilz. “It’s amazing what small things can become large daily frustrations to residents,” he said.
On the other end of the spectrum, he has prevented a kidnapping of an elderly parent by an adult child, mediated a solution between a mother and her three arguing daughters about where the mother should live, and helped a woman relocate from Bellevue to Boston to be near her daughter and two granddaughters.
“All of these situations were resolved through the help of our program, said Stilz. “It’s very gratifying.”
Stilz points out the majority of those in assisted-living and nursing homes come from a generation of people who don’t complain, who do without, who accept fate, and defer to authority. Sometimes they feel they don’t have a voice, or are afraid of retribution.
“Given these factors, it’s easy to get lost, and become disconnected from family, which is why we need volunteers who are strong and can push for what’s right. Volunteers are our front line troops,” he said.
Stilz claims his rewards are immense, and simple. It’s a smile, a letter, a handshake.
“The people we help know what we did for them” he said. “Ombudsmen have the right to enter any facility at anytime, and we’ll keep walking through the door offering to help.”
“Everyone deserves care and dignity,” said Stilz.
Marianne Berg Heywood is a freelance writer living in Bellevue.
Learn more
East King County Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is seeking volunteers for training. . For more information call John Stilz, 206-694-6747; e-mail, johns@solid-ground.org; or www.LTCOP.org
