Politics And Florida Office Of Ombudsman...Does Industry Hold Too Much Sway?
I found a story in today's Tampa Bay Online (Florida) interesting, disturbing and, unfortunately, unsurprising. According to the article, Brian Lee, Florida's long term care ombudsman resigned after "butting heads" with Florida's new governor, Rick Scott. Mr. Lee indicated the "last straw" which lead to his forced resignation was a letter he sent out to Florida's nursing homes "directing them to submit information on their ownership, as permitted under the new federal health care legislation." This is a contentious issue because, according to critics of the nursing home industry, "facilities are often broken into multiple businesses to make lawsuits against them more difficult."
Florida's ombudsman program is funded, in part, by the federal government. Idaho's Commission's on Aging's ombudsman's program receives similar funding. The federal government is looking into Mr. Lee's situation; a representative of the federal government is quoted as stating: "We expect that Florida will make every effort to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest" in the appointment of a new ombudsman.
In Idaho, the Ombudsman is hired by the administrator of the Idaho commission on aging. Currently, Ms. Kim Toryanski is the administrator of the commission. Ms. Toryanski was appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the state senate.
Let's hope the Idaho ombudsman program is not politicized. The Ombudsman serves as a critical advocate for those who need it the most, residents of long-term care facilities and persons 60 years' or older living in the community.
Do you have questions about the Idaho ombudsman? Submit them to me and I will try to find answers and post them in the future on this blog.
Thank you for your comments and monitoring the situation down here in Florida. We will continue to advocate for the protection of the lone program that solely represents residents' interests.