I am so thrilled and happy to report that we met our goal of raising $50,000 by November 30th!!

From all of us here at the Ombudsman Program in Ventura County, THANK YOU!!!

When we first received this unexpected blessing of a matching grant the night of our 30th Anniversary, and understood that everything we brought in that night, and any amounts we could bring in through the end of November, would be matched up to $50,000, we were simply overwhelmed. What an amazingly unanticipated, most welcome gift, but how to do this in 3 weeks was the question. Our hope and prayer was that we could. We weren’t sure how, but then you stepped up with open hearts and open wallets, and your generosity made it happen. Every dollar you gave counted and was doubled, and it was enough!

It is such a blessing to be part of a program that is so highly regarded that it is the recipient of such generous giving hearts in our own community, and even outside our state. We received gifts from as far away as Pennsylvania and Florida.

We can only believe that some of you must have been spreading the word, and we thank you so much!

Knowing that so many non-profits are struggling to keep their doors open today, we can only express with humble hearts, what this gift means to us. It will help us keep doing what we do – advocating and giving an unfettered voice to those who have no voice – and continuing to show them that they are important, they are not forgotten, and we care about them.

On behalf of our Board of Directors, Staff, and Volunteers, we wish all the blessings of this wonderful season on you and yours. Again, Thank You!!

Warmest Regards,

Sylvia

We are not there yet, but we are on our way.

As you will recall, Amgen has given us a challenge matching grant and will match every dollar we bring in between now and the end of November. This wonderful and unexpected announcement came from Amgen Foundation, President, Jean Lim Terra, the night of our 30th anniversary gala fundraiser.

We have now received all our income from our Gala, including credit card sales and outstanding checks, and our net proceeds are $32,536.71. Yesterday we received an anonymous gift of $5,000 and collected another $1450 today, bringing our total funds eligible for the match to $38,986.71

Won’t you please consider making an early year end gift to the Ombudsman Program in Ventura County, which is the only program created solely to provide free and confidential advocacy and support services to over 8,000 elderly persons living in long term care facilities throughout out county – 60% of whom in nursing homes have no family or friends who ever visit or check in on them. Ombudsmen fight for the rights and needs of these vulnerable individuals who have no voice.

What your gift will provide:

1. It will help us bring in more state certified volunteers, and provide the training and support they need to be strong effective advocates for this population.

2. It will help us reimburse the mileage for these volunteers as they travel the almost 50,000 miles each year across Ventura County, visiting and advocating for our elderly neighbors in long term care.

3. It will help us meet the continuing education requirements our volunteers and staff must complete each year to qualify for recertification by the state of California.

4. It will help us maintain our weekly visitations to all nursing homes in Ventura County.

5.Your donation will do this and much much more.

Remember…your gift is 100% tax deductible and will be doubled by the Amgen matching grant.

Thank you again from all of us here and we wish you a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratefully,
Sylvia

• Institutions run by for-profit corporations, which account for about two-thirds of all nursing facilities, generally get lower scores than those run by nonprofits.

• Homes with more nursing staff members per patient, which also tend to be run by nonprofits, generally do better in the ratings.

• Homes with more than 100 beds tend to get lower scores in all categories, including health of residents and levels of nursing care.

• Ratings are lowest in Southern states, particularly for nursing care and registered-nurse staffing, and highest for homes in the Northeast.

• Slightly more than 20 percent of nursing homes nationwide have been regularly given the lowest ratings, and 12 percent to 13 percent have received the top rating.

• While more than 500,000 Americans die in nursing homes each year, more than 2 million return home after a nursing home stay of less than three months.

• The bad news for families trying to find a good nursing home for a loved one is that behind the ratings — a five-star scale — are many complicated issues that make it difficult to assess which institutions offer the best care.

“Everyone wants to have an easy way to look up homes,” said Larry Minnix, chief executive of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, which represents more than 5,000 mostly nonprofit nursing homes and other long-term-care providers. “The concept is a good idea, but they’re not really measuring the most meaningful things, like patient- and staff-satisfaction surveys, nor do the stars take into account the patient caseload.” Read More Here – Printer Friendly

I have reprinted this story from the Star showing how important it is to compare nursing homes and find the best match for yourself or a loved one.  The Long Term Care Services of Ventura County offer comprehensive information about long term care facilities through its Pre-placement Counseling Program.  – Sylvia Taylor-Stein

This is wonderful news!!! Thanks to all of you who supported this emergency funding. The Bi-partisan support of this bill put it on the governor’s desk and we are deeply grateful for the team that made this happen.

On a local level I am deeply appreciative of our Board of Supervisors, Assembly Members and Senators, the Ventura Star for supporting this legislation, and all the many friends of the Ombudsman Program. I hope to write a lengthier thank you later.

I do want to get this into your hands right away. Thank you for standing with us.

Sylvia

Read the NEWS RELEASE — Governor Signs Feuer Legislation Restoring Protections For Abused and Neglected Nursing Home Residents (313)

Sylvia Taylor-Stein
Executive Director
Long Term Care Services of Ventura County, Inc.,
2021 Sperry Avenue Suite 35
Ventura, CA 93003
T: 805.656.1986 ext 13
Fax: 805.658.8540
www.ombudsmanventura.org
a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization