Local long-term care ombudsman address the concerns of hundreds of seniors every day.
The federally-funded program is looking for more volunteers to help in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
The ombudsman are advocates for proper care and treatment of nursing home and assisted living residents, and with only six full-time staffers across the state of Nebraska, it's becoming difficult to serve those who need their help the most.
70 year-old Dennis Kaster has known Volunteer Ombudsman John Oltman for the past 15 years.
"John looks out for me, everybody, he looks out for the residents if they have problems with the staff or with relatives ... [he's] kind of like a go between," Kaster said.
Kaster says Oltman made it easier for him to get a new wheelchair.
"He's kind of like a trouble shooter," Kaster said.
Ombudsman help people like Dennis solve problems.
"Some of the residents need to have some attention, they don't know which direction to go to," Volunteer Ombudsman John Oltman said. "A lot of them are afraid to speak to staff because of consequences they feel may come about."
"He's like my kind of like a father figure in a way," Kaster said. "You know he's older, just someone you look forward to seeing."
"Our job is just to support the residents," Local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Beth Nodes said,
While federal money supports the ombudsman office, the state decides how the money is spent.
Nebraska has six full-time ombudsmen throughout the state, for Beth Nodes, that means her workload includes 131 facilities within 5 counties, so she relies on volunteers. There are just 30 volunteers right now.
"A lot of times people are interested in this program because they had a family member in a long-term care setting and they needed our help," Nodes said.
More volunteers would mean more eyes and ears to visit long-term care facilities to hear from from residents and administrators, whether their problem seems big or small.
"Some of them complain about the coffee, some of them complain about their roommate," Oltman said.
But the one goal is to solve problems.
"We try to work things out and see what can be done," Oltman said.
Anyone wanting to become a volunteer must be 21 or older, and complete at least 20 hours of training.
Nodes says trainees shadow other volunteers, and are then placed in a facility where they'll help the residents.
"The volunteers go in and they meet with as many residents as they can and they get to know them," Nodes said. "We're more than friendly visitors so we have the obligation and the expectation that we're going to help resolve issues and educate them about their rights."
Nodes also says participants only have to volunteer a minimum of 2 hours a week. For more information on how to become a volunteer visit their website, http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/ltcOmbudsman.aspx
