Kitsap County Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

ADVISORY COUNCIL FUNCTION/PURPOSE

Pursuant to the agreement between the south King County Multi-Service Center, as contractor for the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and Kitsap County, the purpose of the Ombudsman Advisory Council is to advise the Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman on recruitment, selection, training, support and evaluation of the volunteer ombudsman and to further disseminate public information regarding volunteer opportunities, training and program services and to assist in local program operation, goals and priorities.

The Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall solicit applications for Ombudsman Advisory Council membership in the following categories: legal specialist; senior advocate; long-term care provider; mental health specialist; long term care consumer; other categories as determined by the local program. 

All interested applicants will meet, in person or phone, with the Ombuds to review the Ombuds program, Council goals, and applicant interest.  All applications will be reviewed by the Council for recommendation of appointment by the Board of Commissioners during a regular meeting.  Once an application is recommended for appointment, it is forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for review and consideration for appointment.  The BOCC formally appoints all members to the Ombudsman Advisory Council. Ombudsman Advisory Council members shall serve three-year terms.  There are no term limits.

Public Comment

Members of the public wishing to comment during designated public comment periods may do so through the following options. Each member of the public is limited to three minutes of Internet, call-in, or written comments. At the discretion of the Chair, a public comment that is overly repetitive or inappropriate (vulgar, disruptive, etc.) will be ended.

Internet Users: Please click on the raise hand feature in Zoom. The sound will be unmuted, and the Internet participant should announce their name. The participant will be called upon to speak at the designated time.

Call-In Users: Callers will be unmuted one at a time and asked whether the caller wishes to offer public comment. The last four digits of the call-in number will be announced, and call-in participants should announce their first and last name before speaking.

Written Comments: Written comments will be read during the public comment period if submitted to dgargus@kitsap.gov by 12:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. Comments read are limited to three minutes. To ensure written public comments are read at the proper meeting, a written statement should include: the date of the meeting the written comments are intended for; participant's first and last name; and agenda item and/or subject the written comments refer to.