Above: A resident volunteer asked me to share his call for fellow volunteers. (image cropped from flyer)
A Southborough “Ombudsman”, working with Springwell Elder Services as a Senior Care Advocate is looking to recruit more volunteers. He is holding an open house one week from today and asked me to share his announcement.
The open house takes place on Wednesday, May 1st at 1:00 pm in Natick.
Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by emailing volunteer@springwell.com.
Here is Steve Nelson’s invitation with more details:
Our nursing home residents need advocates now more than ever. Since 2020, many of our senior citizens in long-term care facilities have suffered due to increased restrictions on family visits and serious staffing shortages. Residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities need an advocate who is looking out for their rights and interests.
The Springwell Ombudsman Program is in place to offer residents of long-term care facilities a way to have their complaints and concerns heard, helping them to feel empowered and ensuring that they live in dignity and respect. Highly trained and supervised volunteers visit the facilities on a regular basis and are available to hear concerns in confidence, advocate to protect residents’ rights, and provide information and referrals.
Springwell is holding an open house on Wednesday May 1st at 1:00 at the Morse Institute Library, 14 E. Central Street, Natick to explain how the program works and answer questions. Please see the [above right] flyer for more details.
You can also find more information on volunteering for the program here.
According to Springwell’s website, the schedule is flexible:
- You chose the day and time, beginning no earlier than 10AM.
- Facility visits should take place during daytime hours
To be eligible, volunteers must:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Make a 1 year commitment
- Be available once per week for 1-2 hours for visits
- Be able to attend a 3-day training
Volunteers must also “be interviewed in person, have two favorable references,” and “successfully pass a Criminal Offender Record Inquiry (CORI)”.
For those who don’t think this is the right “opportunity for you”, the flyer invites you to still join the open house to learn about Springwell’s “eight different volunteer programs that make a difference”.
