## LongTerm Care Ombudsman Annual Report: Fiscal Year 1995

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### **Acknowledgments**

Many people have worked to develop and implement the NORS, butthe following individuals deserve special credit and thanks: 

Colorado Ombudsman **Virginia Fraser**, who developed thecomplaint categories, and Santa Barbara, California Ombudsman **KathyBadrak**, who provided an invaluable critique of them from theperspective of a local ombudsman program which handles a hugevolume of complaints; 

Kentucky Ombudsman and former NASOP President **Gary Hammonds**and Missouri Ombudsman and former NASOP Secretary **Carol Scott**for their unequivocal support of the project and for coordinatingwide ombudsman review and comment on several iterations of theform; 

University of Louisville (Kentucky) Social Work Professor **RuthHuber**, Ph.D. and her associate **Kevin Borders** who,while working under an AoA grant to develop the ombudsmansoftware *OmTrak*, taught scores of ombudsmen throughout thecountry the basics of the NORS system and simple ways to collectsophisticated data; 

Former Ohio Ombudsman and current Ohio Department of AgingChief of Planning, Development and Evaluation **RolandHornbostel** and others on the *ad hoc* task force whostruggled with and agreed upon the complaint dispositioncategories which best describe what actually happens withcomplaints once they are investigated; 

The National Ombudsman Resource Center, operated by theNational Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform inconjunction with the National Association of State Units onAging, which provided, under the dedicated leadership of CenterDirector **Jacquelyn Koenig**, support and assistance to stateand local ombudsmen on a daily basis and the opportunity forombudsmen to work together on the NORS at national ombudsmantraining conferences; 

The staff of Ellsworth Associates, the contractor whichdeveloped the software for AoA to receive and analyze the NORSdata; 

AoA senior managers **William F. Benson** and **John F.McCarthy**, both of whom provided unequivocal support andstrong leadership for the development of the NORS and thisreport. 

AoA staff members **Jan Phalen**, project officer for theEllsworth Associates computer support contract; **Robert Jones**,who developed the ombudsman coverage section of the report; **MichaelWalker**, who produced the table of types of board and care andsimilar facilities in the various states; **Nancy Wartow**,who compiled the examples of complaints; **Brian Lutz** whoworked on the issues section; **Howard White**, who producedthe tables, charts and graphics in the report; and **Sue Wheaton**,who wrote much of the report and without whose dedication to theOmbudsman Program and perseverance the NORS undertaking mightnever have been completed. 

State, local and volunteer ombudsmen; state and area agencydirectors; and all others who manage ombudsman services and/orprovide data collection and analysis assistance to ombudsmen, allof whom carried out the difficult and often frustrating work ofchanging their reporting systems to conform to the new nationalstandards and requirements and struggled with new or revisedcomputer software to collect and synthesize the data required. 

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For questions about the LTC Ombudsman Program, contact Sue WheatonHypertext conversion by Saadia Greenberg,June 25, 1997