Albemarle ombudsman urges Gates County to recruit volunteers for nursing‑home advisory committee

Alyssa Hines, the regional long‑term care ombudsman with the Albemarle Commission, told the Gates County Board of Commissioners that the county has no members currently serving on its nursing‑home community advisory committee and urged the board to refer volunteers to fill six seats the county is allotted.

Hines said the committee’s volunteers visit facilities, interact with residents and advocate for residents’ rights. “We do advocate for residents when their rights have been violated or they're not receiving proper care,” Hines said during a presentation to the board. She described the ombudsman’s role as investigating complaints, mediating disputes and providing information to families, residents and facility staff.

The Albemarle ombudsman covers a 10‑county region of roughly 6,200 square miles and said the region includes 22 long‑term care facilities — eight nursing homes, 11 adult care/assisted‑living facilities and three family care homes — with about 1,725 resident beds when facilities are at full capacity. Hines said about 150 of those beds are in Gates County: Gates Health and Rehab (80 beds) and Gates House (70 beds), which includes an assisted‑living memory care unit.

Hines outlined eligibility and training for advisory committee members: applicants must be county residents at least 18 years old and free of conflicts of interest (for example, they may not have an immediate family member who works in or resides at the facility). She said the state’s training requirements recently increased, changing from an earlier regimen that Hines described as roughly 18 initial hours plus 10 annual hours to a 36‑hour initial curriculum and 18 hours of annual training. Training is delivered partly online by the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and partly through local orientation; Hines said much of the training may be completed incrementally.

Hines said volunteers are appointed by the county commissioners after the state designates them and that terms begin with a one‑year appointment followed by reappointment intervals of two to three years at the board’s pleasure. “Gates County should have six members, and right now we do not have anyone on the committees,” she told the commissioners, asking them to refer candidates and offer outreach contacts such as church groups and senior centers.

Hines said the ombudsman office cannot cite facilities for regulatory deficiencies — that authority rests with the Department of Health and Human Services — but that ombudsmen work to negotiate resolutions that reflect residents’ wishes. She offered to make presentations to local groups and to assist would‑be volunteers with the application and orientation process.

The board did not take formal action on Hines’s request during the meeting; commissioners discussed how vacancies on county advisory boards are advertised and noted the clerk posts openings on the county website.