State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

The Colorado Long-Term Care Ombudsman is a statewide advocacy program for residents of long-term care facilities. The State Ombudsman office is located at The Legal Center and operates through a contract with the Aging and Adult Services Division of The Department of Human Services. There are 16 local programs that operate within or in conjunction with the Regional Area Agency on Aging. The program is authorized by state and federal law to investigate complaints made by (and on behalf of) residents of long-term care facilities.

Across Colorado there are 25 full-time, 24 part-time, and 87 volunteer ombudsmen who strive to improve the quality of life for almost 20,000 older adults in nursing facilities and more than 14,000 in assisted living residences.

The Colorado Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program served 213 nursing facilities with a total of 19,946 beds and 518 assisted living residences with a total of 14, 446 beds and responded to 2115 calls for information and assistance from consumers, families, local ombudsmen and AAA staff and other long-term care professionals.

Colorado’s local ombudsmen:

• Visited 100% of nursing facilities at least monthly and 100% of assisted living residences at least quarterly;
• Investigated 6,096 complaints, of which 78% were verified, consistent with the national average of 77% of complaints being well-founded;
• Participated in 583 Department of Health annual Nursing Facility recertification surveys;
• Attended 1,713 resident council meetings and 104 family council meetings; and
• Conducted 864 community education sessions, 3,960 facility consultations, 5,309 individual consultations, 263 training sessions for volunteers, and 186 training sessions for the staff of long-term care facilities.

	2009 Annual Report Read more about the 2009 accomplishments of the Ombudsman and Legal Assistance Developer Programs. (269 KB)