{"id":11551,"date":"2021-09-11T13:48:17","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T20:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11551"},"modified":"2021-09-11T15:07:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T22:07:57","slug":"step-up-to-help-seniors-at-the-family-service-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11551","title":{"rendered":"Step Up to Help Seniors at the Family Service Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Providing a voice to the vulnerable is the\u00a0role of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman\u00a0representative, a volunteer program of\u00a0the Family Service Agency (fsacares.org<\/a>).
\nThrough regular visits to Santa Barbara County\u2019s 14\u00a0skilled nursing facilities and 119 assisted-living facilities\u00a0for the elderly, Ombudsman representatives get\u00a0to know the residents and advocate to improve their\u00a0quality of life.<\/p>\n

The program covers the entire county, from Carpinteria\u00a0to Santa Maria, with more than 5,000 people\u00a0under its watch. \u201cWe are the extra pair of eyes and ears\u00a0who help them and advocate for them,\u201d said Marco\u00a0Quintanar<\/a>, who started working in elder care as a\u00a0kitchen worker in a long-term care facility 30 years\u00a0ago. Today, he is a leader in senior care and advocacy\u00a0as the supervisor for the Ombudsman program, visiting\u00a0facilities himself as well as providing training and\u00a0support to volunteers.<\/p>\n

Retired aerospace engineer Mike Leu would be\u00a0considered a \u201csuper volunteer\u201d by any measure. \u201cI was\u00a0looking for a way to stay active and reapply my skills\u00a0to something that was new and useful,\u201d said Leu, who\u00a0stumbled on a newspaper article about the program
\n(run by a different agency at the time) about 10 years\u00a0ago and thought it looked interesting. He reached out,\u00a0was trained, and jumped right in, enjoying the work\u00a0so much that he now covers 23 different facilities and\u00a0puts in about 70-80 hours a month in volunteer time.<\/p>\n

But both Ombudsman superstars caution that prospective\u00a0volunteers should not be intimidated by Leu\u2019s\u00a0level of work. Volunteers can commit a little time, or a\u00a0lot, depending on their interest and availability.\u00a0\u201cPart of the beauty of the Ombudsman program\u00a0is you can scale it up or you can scale it down pretty\u00a0much as far as you want,\u201d said Leu. \u201cIf you only want\u00a0to put in a few hours a week at three or four small\u00a0facilities, you can. And then, if you\u2019re like me and\u00a0you\u2019re out of control, you put in a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, there are just seven volunteers covering\u00a0the entire county, so Quintanar hopes to double\u00a0that number at his next Ombudsman volunteer training this fall. \u201cYou have to be wanting\u00a0to help other people,\u201d said Leu of what\u00a0they\u2019re looking for in volunteers, which
\nalso includes being self-motivated, comfortable\u00a0in communicating with people,\u00a0and then ready to solve problems in complex\u00a0situations. \u201cThe reward in this thing\u00a0is you\u2019re demonstrably improving somebody\u2019s\u00a0quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his 30 years, Quintanar has seen a\u00a0wide range of residents and issues. \u201cNowadays,
\nbecause of the advances in technology\u00a0and everything, people are living\u00a0longer,\u201d he said, which means caregivers\u00a0have to deal not just with aging but with\u00a0advanced mental illnesses, like someone\u00a0living for 20 years with Alzheimer\u2019s. \u201cThat\u00a0makes things harder because \u2026 they have\u00a0some behavioral challenges. It is hard on\u00a0the families, and it is hard on the resident\u00a0and hard on everybody who is around\u00a0them. It\u2019s not their fault, but they need care.\u00a0So that\u2019s why we are there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both men agree that this work is\u00a0very rewarding. \u201cIf you make a difference\u00a0in the life of someone, even just\u00a0listening to that person, that makes\u00a0you feel very good,\u201d said Quintanar.\u00a0\u201cAnd you don\u2019t need anybody to say\u00a0thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about becoming a Certified Ombudsman\u00a0volunteer, or other ways to support\u00a0Family Service Agency\u2019s programs for seniors,\u00a0call Marco Quintanar at (805) 922-1236 or visit\u00a0volunteer4seniors.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Originally published in The Santa Barbara Independent<\/a> on August 12, 2021. Cover photo by Erick Madrid. To read this special section as it originally appeared in print, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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