Advocates for Nursing Home Residents Honored at World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Event
Janet Fox, third from left, received the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Award during an elder abuse awareness event hosted by the Office of the Attorney General on June 14. Fox is a Certified Volunteer Advocate (CVA) with the Office of the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman. Also pictured, from left: Meg Silverman, Coordinator of the CVA Program’s Central 1 Region (Hunterdon-Somerset-Union); Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, New Jersey’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman; Jeff Findlay, Supervisor, Field Operations for the CVA Program; Heather Hadley, Deputy Attorney General and Bureau Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; and Al Garcia, Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
EWING, N.J. — Certified Volunteer Advocates (CVAs) with the Office of the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) were celebrated June 14 during an event to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, an annual, international effort to recognize the dignity of older adults and their right to live free of fear and violence.
The CVAs regularly visit nursing homes across the state and advocate for their residents. About 100 CVAs and staff members of the LTCO attended the event, which was hosted by the Office of the Attorney General; the Medicaid Fraud Unit, Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor; and the New Jersey Elder Protection Task Force.
Al Garcia, Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, presented the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Award to Janet Fox, a CVA with nearly 20 years’ service to the program. In a letter nominating Fox for the award, Margaret Silverman, Coordinator of the CVA Program’s Central 1 Region, noted that she has made more than 10,000 resident visits at the Union County nursing home where she advocates.
“But as anyone who has interacted with Janet can tell you, to her, it's all about the quality of those interactions, not the quantity,” Silverman wrote. “Janet doesn't just visit her residents. She gets to know them as individuals, and they get to know her. She is so compassionate, caring, considerate, and insightful that the residents come to think of her as a friend and confidante, not someone from the government fulfilling a role. … She serves her residents as a fierce advocate. She knows how to be assertive when called for, but also knows how to work collaboratively with the administration to see that her residents' rights are never compromised. She is widely respected by residents and staff alike."
Speaking before the award presentation, Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, New Jersey’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman, said CVAs are crucial team members at the LTCO. They can help identify — and intervene, with the resident’s consent — when individuals are experiencing problems or when the quality of care or quality of life for all residents might be threatened by systemic issues at the nursing home. They also ensure that residents maintain some social contact.
“More than half of nursing home residents have no regular visitors,” Brewer said. “Sometimes, our advocate is the only person they ever talk to from outside the nursing home walls.”
To the advocates, Brewer said: “Every one of you makes a vital contribution to promoting the rights, dignity, and well-being of nursing home residents. Thank you for all you do. We could not fulfill our mission without you.”
In addition to Garcia and Brewer, speakers included Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who welcomed attendees via video; Heather Hadley, Deputy Attorney General and Bureau Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; and Sgt. Michael Rosati of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The program closed with Chaplain Gary Holden, Founder and Director of The Police Chaplain Program, delivering a presentation on the importance of resiliency.
View photos from the day’s event.
About the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman
The Office of the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman is an independent state agency dedicated to the mission of advancing the rights, dignity, and self-determination of adults living in long-term care, including nursing homes, assisted living, and residential health care facilities. Learn more.
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Official Site of The State of New Jersey
