Seniors’ advocate must be independent

By The Des Moines Register

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Every state has a long-term care ombudsman. When Congress created these positions more 30 years ago, the goal was clear: Provide an advocate for people living in institutions, including nursing homes. Federal and state law require the ombudsman to operate independently and advocate for the elderly.

Jeanne Yordi is Iowa's ombudsman. Unfortunately, she has shown she lacks the courage to speak up. She doesn't want to be independent. And it's difficult for Iowans to trust she is objective.

Here's what should happen in Iowa now:

Yordi should find a new job

Last year a controversy with Yordi unfolded on the front pages of this newspaper. She said John McCalley, the former director of the Iowa Department on Aging, was muzzling her, and she feared for her job. She applied for retirement, complaining to then-Gov. Chet Culver that her work had been restricted for three years.

As this page noted at the time: The top advocate for the elderly in Iowa didn't stand up for herself - and the integrity of the position in a state with an aging population - for three years. She allowed herself to be silenced without speaking out publicly. Yordi stayed on the job and was given a chance to prove she had the necessary backbone to be an ombudsman.

But now she has spearheaded legislation this session that strips independence from the ombudsman's office.

A bill passed by the Iowa Senate would require that she consider the views of an “advisory committee” whose members would include representatives from nursing homes, assisted living centers and state regulators. These are the very entities the ombudsman, who handled 2,200 complaints last year, could be at odds with. ...

The law should not define who provides that input and require an ombudsman to consider it. That Yordi wants such a mandate to be codified is unthinkable. The bill also would allow the head of the Department on Aging to hire and fire the ombudsman. That was the very arrangement that had Yordi fearing for her job under McCalley. ...

Donna Harvey, the director of the Iowa Department on Aging, currently has the authority to hire a new ombudsman. The Branstad appointee should select someone with grit and tenacity. The person should have experience in advocacy and an understanding that a true ombudsman must operate independently, no matter how lonely or tough that may be.

After last year's controversy with Yordi, former Gov. Chet Culver issued an executive order to give her more autonomy and independence. Lawmakers were supposed to finish the job by codifying that independence in law.

One option is housing the office within the existing Office of Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman, where Iowans turn to air grievances about government. Lawmakers should also ensure the ombudsman can't be silenced - or fired - by a department head or governor who doesn't like what he or she is doing. It should require legislative action to remove the person.

Iowans are nervous about what they're reading in the news. The long-term care ombudsman wants to collaborate with industry. An agency director is cutting nursing home inspectors. Another is silencing senior advocates. Iowans wonder if anyone in government is making vulnerable seniors the top priority.

The first step toward easing people's fears: Ensure independence for the long-term care ombudsman and find the right person for the job.