Dear Kern River Courier:
I would like to personally thank you for your recent article about the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP).  

I am a State Certified Long Term Care Ombudsman.  I have heard people call the LTCOP a "fu-fu" program developed by liberal Democrats and not necessary, but this is just not the case.  This program was started in 1971 and was initiated through former President Nixon's eight-point initiative to improve the quality of care in America's nursing homes in response to complaints submitted to the White House and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare about abuse and neglect. It is an important program which ended the days of homes smelling like urine, restraining residents, physically or emotionally abusing residents, illegal evictions and many other abuses and inequities that too often took or continue to take place.  The 49% cut in our budget is frightening because it will invite all of this inhumane behavior to be revitalized.  

The economic problems of our country are devastating to us all and have certainly set us back many decades. The 49% cut in this program's budget will also set back over 30 years of the nursing home reform that has been so successful.  We simply cannot allow this to happen.  We need the advocacy of the community to let our legislators know that this is not acceptable.  We need letters sent to Jean Fuller, Jon McQuiston and Kevin McCarthy to let them know that we want to rest assured that our senior citizens are being treated with fairness, dignity, respect and without fear of abuse or retaliation.

As a volunteer to this program, I will continue to diligently monitor those homes in my charge and I hope that the valley's residents will do their part as well. It's to the benefit of all citizens.