What Is a Healthcare Ombudsman? Minnesota Guide for Facilities

Living in a healthcare facility can be stressful and lonely for elderly individuals. Being away from family members contributes to isolation and depression and puts patients at an increased risk for abuse, neglect, and poor care quality.

Healthcare providers can mitigate these risks by partnering with their state healthcare ombudsman. Minnesota facility leaders are encouraged to collaborate with these patient advocates, instead of regarding them as adversaries, to optimize health outcomes and improve patient satisfaction scores.

In this guide, we outline the services provided by the Minnesota Ombudsman Office and provide tips for working with a healthcare ombudsman to address care deficiencies and improve quality of life for healthcare residents at your facility.

What Is the Minnesota Healthcare Ombudsman Program?

The Older Americans Act (OAA) was established to provide protections for elderly citizens across the U.S. It ensures that they have access to essential community resources like public transportation, healthy food options, and high-quality healthcare.

The federal Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) was created as part of the OAA to protect elderly individuals living in healthcare facilities. The LTCOP requires each state to create an advocacy and oversight program to serve patients living in facilities like nursing homes, assisted living centers, and hospice care homes.

The Minnesota ombudsman office has two separate departments to ensure coverage for vulnerable populations:

• The Office of Minnesota Ombudsman for Long-Term Care: This branch provides services to address unique concerns of long-term care facility residents.
• The Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities: These representatives serve those with emotional and mental health disturbances, developmental disabilities, and chemical dependency.

Representatives called ombudsmen from both departments work to ensure healthcare regulations are followed in care facilities across the state. By partnering with facility leaders, political representatives, and the Minnesota Department of Health, these advocates lobby for healthcare reform and improve the quality of life of individuals who may otherwise feel unseen and alone.

What Is the Role of a Minnesota Long-Term Care Ombudsman?

Minnesota state employees and volunteers work to ensure that each long-term care facility resident receives the respect and compassion they deserve. These advocates don’t provide direct patient care, but are trained to:

• Educate healthcare residents, their families, and care teams about the services and resources available to them.
• Assist with complaints like abuse, neglect, improper discharge planning, quality and choice of food, and poor medication distribution.
• Provide information on legal rights and policy changes to patients and facilities, and suggest changes to governmental agencies when appropriate.
• Serve as a liaison for patients and their families to address grievances and identify possible solutions.
• Advocate for change at the government level to improve each individual’s care.

Teaming up with a state ombudsman can help Minnesota facilities meet patient needs and empower staff members with the support and guidance they need to provide the best possible care.

3 Tips for Facilities Partnering With a Hospital Ombudsman

Minnesota care providers may fear involvement with state ombudsmen, often under the false assumption that reaching out to an oversight representative may lead to punitive or accusatory action. It’s important for facility staff to remember that these advocates exist to elevate the level of care patients receive, not to fire employees or shut down facilities.

Instead of worrying about getting their facility or team members into trouble, healthcare employees should collaborate with ombudsmen to keep small problems from becoming more significant in the future. Here are three tips for facilities to help make ombudsman visits positive and productive.

1. Prepare Your Facility and Staff for Annual Ombudsman Site Visits

Minnesota health ombudsmen complete annual visits of every long-term care facility to inspect care quality and speak with patients and staff members. They also complete site assessments after complaints have been made and work to resolve concerns when possible.

These state employees often arrive unannounced; therefore, it’s important to prepare for these staff visits to prevent legal scrutiny and disciplinary fines. Stay ahead of the curve by confirming that safety standards are up to date and ensuring that care falls in line with state policies and regulations.

After every ombudsman site visit, disseminate the advocate’s findings and suggestions to your multidisciplinary team. Ombudsmen may call attention to specific problems like poor patient hygiene or low-quality food choice. Taking ombudsman suggestions seriously and making an effort to promptly address concerns can save your facility valuable time and money.

2. Provide Education and Training on the Minnesota State Ombudsman Program

It’s important to give employees paid classroom training sessions to familiarize them with the Minnesota ombudsman program. Empower your employees to:

• Refer patients and their families to the state ombudsman website.
• Encourage patients, family members, and other team members to contact their state representative with any questions or concerns via the ombudsman (Minnesota) phone number: (800) 657-3591.
• Distribute ombudsman resources and program informationto patients and family members to increase awareness of program services. Post brochures and FAQ pamphlets in public spaces to encourage discussion between healthcare staff and their families.

When working with state oversight agencies, transparency is key. Providing information on the role and function of ombudsmen is the first step to establishing a meaningful patient-provider relationship.

3. Solicit Patient Experience Feedback to Optimize Care Quality

Encourage patients and their family members to provide feedback during the care planning process. When redesigning patient room layout, daily schedules, and meal options, take note of patient preferences — doing so can help boost patient satisfaction scores and improve patient engagement.

Hosting resident care councils and distributing patient surveys can highlight opportunities to improve the patient journey. Facilities that are willing to hear about concerns and address them in a public setting show patients and family members that they care more about building trust than cutting costs.

It’s important for facilities to note that care providers who develop quality improvement initiatives are more motivated and satisfied in their jobs. When patients are happier, so are the staff members caring for them. Empowering your team members with the knowledge and support to improve patient wellness can significantly reduce healthcare burnout and employee turnover.

Find More Ways to Support Your Residents and Promote Compliance

It can be difficult to improve outcomes and satisfaction scores without the help of a patient advocate like a state ombudsman. Minnesota care facilities can overcome these challenges, and more, with the evidence-based care improvement tips in our free newsletter.