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Ventura County Star Section: Life Edition: Ventura Published: 07/30/2000 '... You're
on our side' Old folks homes. Rest homes. Retirement homes. "Don't ever put me in one of those homes," many an aging parent has plaintively said to his adult child. Everyone worries about what goes on in homes for the elderly, but no one seems to do much about it. There are exceptions. Locally, there are 34 volunteer advocates in Ventura County's Long Term Care Ombudsman Program who regularly poke their noses into the 151 licensed-care facilities throughout the county. One recent day, volunteer Eileen Kanatzar of Ventura did something unusual. She paid announced visits to five residential homes for the elderly in Simi Valley with a reporter and photographer in tow. These homes can accommodate up to six people, and look like any other houses in the neighborhoods. Usually, Kanatzar's drop-ins are unscheduled. It's not that the managers don't know she's coming; they just don't know what time or what day. When Kanatzar knocks and is allowed in at, say, Elizabeth's Manor or Beverly's No. 1, her purposes are twofold: to give some friendly attention to the elderly residents, many of whom never have visitors, and to openly snoop around the house, checking that the kitchen is clean, that a good food supply is on hand, that the patient medicine cabinet is locked and that working alarms are on all outside doors in facilities where Alzheimer's patients live, for starters. But first, Kanatzar chats up the residents, whose average age is 84, and who typically have some degree of dementia. "How are you, Helen?" Kanatzar asked that recent day, smiling and taking Helen's hand in her own. "I like your nail polish. Where did you get that bruise?" (The majority of the time, the bruises are caused by minor stumbles, Kanatzar said, but it never hurts to ask.) Or, "Hi, Sofie. You look better this month. Have you gained weight? What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Typically, the manager is hovering nearby. Although one might assume all managers dread these surprise visits, a good one might be just as eager to get the equivalent of an "A+" on Kanatzar's report card. It validates the good job the staff is doing. When Kanatzar dropped in at Elizabeth's Manor No. 1, resident Frank Gardiol did just that. "You know," said the wheelchair-bound Gardiol to Kanatzar in his private room decorated with personal mementos, "I've been in terror all my life about these places -- and this one is wonderful." On the way out to her car, Kanatzar was a bit teary-eyed over Gardiol's words. "This heartens me. And I feel so good to see them laughing. I can let them know I care, and they uplift me." Ombudsmen, or advocates, are trained to look for everything, says Sylvia Taylor, executive director of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, a non profit charitable agency which survives on donations. "They're alert for smells, call lights that are unanswered, water within reach, everything up to gross neglect and abuse," Taylor said. If serious abuse is suspected, such as sexual abuse by a staff member, she said, the advocate reports it to the proper state licensing agency, such as the Department of Health Services and law enforcement. "Our advocates become acquainted with the residents; they notice changes like weight loss, and how the residents interact with staff." Taylor said she thinks the managers "don't mind that we come. We all work not to have an adversarial relationship. But our first job is to advocate for the resident." She believes the unscheduled, unannounced visits by the volunteers "are one reason you don't hear too much about abuses in Ventura County." At Beverly's No. 2 in Simi Valley, a woman asked Kanatzar why she was there. "When I told her I came to make sure she was being treated first-class, she laughed and said, "Oh so you're on our side!" Ventura County's licensed facilities for the frail and elderly can accommodate from six to 566 at large independent living facilities like Ventura's TowneHouse. Skilled nursing facilities (once called nursing or convalescent homes) are visited weekly, usually by two trained advocates. "And we need twice as many as the 34 volunteers we now have to check every licensed residence in every part of the county," Taylor said. Thousand Oaks and Santa Paula are in particular need of more advocate coverage, she said. 'Good morning. It is Monday…' At noon that recent day at Elizabeth's Manor No. 1 in Simi Valley, a big-screen TV in the living room was tuned to a game show, watched by three residents. One 93-year-old resident was writing a letter at the dinette table. The easy chairs and couches were raised 3 inches, to make sitting and getting up easier. A nearby blackboard with the day's message in large letters was up as usual, to help orient the residents: "Good morning. It is Monday, June 26 at Elizabeth's Manor in Simi Valley." Signs on doors read "Bathroom" or "Exit." The inability to care for oneself in one's own home is what brings the frail elderly to such assisted living facilities. Besides extreme frailty, failed eyesight or hearing, dementia and lack of mobility often afflict the residents. "Sixty percent of these people have no family or even friends," said Suzan Neely, administrative coordinator of the ombudsman program. "They've outlived them all. So the ombudsman may be the only outside friend to these people." On any given day, 6,200 people live in Ventura County long-term-care facilities. Those numbers will only be going up, up, up, as the nation's 4 million baby boomers, already crowding age 60, edge toward 70. The agency publishes a 10-page handout that lists all 151 licensed facilities, with levels of care, and whether they accommodate Alzheimer's patients or those who are incontinent. The lists are free for the asking. Families contemplating placement are welcome to tour any of the facilities, "and ought to," Taylor said. On average, a small residential facility will charge $1,400 to $5,000 a month, and are private-pay. A skilled nursing facility, which might cost $4,800 a month, accepts MediCal. In the end, it is the 24-hour staff of caregivers in these residences that decides the residents' day-to-day quality of life. And taking care of the elderly, just like caring for children, seldom pays a good wage. "I've heard caregivers themselves say they could go to McDonald's and get better pay," Neely said. "No other agency exists in California to advocate for the institutionalized elderly," Taylor said. "And we need donations. If someone wanted to donate a dollar to our program, we'd take that dollar and make it work." Looking for volunteer advocates as well as bucks: "It's a great job for retired people," Taylor added. "You can put in as little as 10 hours a month, or much more, and can visit either small homes or larger facilities. We have one week of training." As Kanatzar wound down her day of inspecting her five Simi Valley homes, the grand total of infractions came to: one torn window screen and one loose chair arm that could be dangerous. Neither was serious, though she recorded both. This was a typical day, she said, for unscheduled visits also. |