More eyes soon will be on Ohio providers thanks to an increase in state funding that will help its ombudsman program add more volunteers and increase visits to facilities and residents.
Ohio’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program will see an increase in state funding to the tune of more than $477,000 total over the next two years.
The state’s two-year operating budget for 2020–21 has budgeted about $1.8 million and $3.1 million for the program in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The additional funding will be used to hire a full-time volunteer coordinator father program’s regional offices, state officials noted. The state also plans to increase the program’s visits to facilities and residents.
Currently, the state’s ombudsman program has about 200 volunteers.
More visits, however, could result in worse survey outcomes for providers. An October study found that nursing homes could be subject to worse deficiency outcomes if an ombudsman is present during annual surveys.
