Certified Ombudsman Volunteers (COVs) advocate for people living in long-term care facilities to enhance their quality of life and services. Ombudsmen and COVs partner to ensure the health, safety, wellbeing and rights of long-term care consumers. If you have a passion for helping others and willingness to learn, we need you!
COVs provide access and information to residents about the services of the Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care. They provide a regular presence in an assigned long-term care facility and build strong relationships with residents and facility staff.
Some other volunteer activities include:
Supporting complaint investigations and assisting residents in resolving concerns.
Educate residents, family members and care providers about resident rights.
Attend resident and family council meetings.
Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have reliable transportation, and enjoy working with older adults and people with disabilities.
To become a COV, you must:
Complete an application including a conflict of interest form
Complete two reference forms
Pass a background screen
Complete an interview
Complete orientation training (provided by OOLTC)
Volunteers will need to complete an initial 36 hours of orientation training to become designated Certified Ombudsman Volunteers. Orientation includes a mixture of classroom training, shadowing experiences and independent study. Volunteers are required to complete 18 hours of training every year to maintain designation.
Volunteers must dedicate at least 6 hours every month to visiting their assigned facility. We also ask that volunteers commit to at least 1 year of service.
To learn more, please contact the COV Program's Volunteer Coordinator, Marie Kessler, by emailing marie.l.kessler@state.mn.us or calling (651) 890-6308.
