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Lawmakers are asking the state Department of Elder Affairs to butt out of a program that advocates for residents in long term care facilities. The department was chastised by the feds for muzzling resident advocates. As Whitney Ray tells us, senators say volunteers were intimidated in an effort to keep them from reporting problems.

Lynn Dos Santos used to advocate for residents living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities but not any more. She was fired she says for doing her job.

“I was working very hard and fighting the Department of Elder Affairs to get the Ombudsman program to be independent,” said Dos Santos.

Dos Santos is one of two volunteers in the Ombudsman program let go earlier this year. The head of the program, Brian Lee was also fired.

“Ombudsman, they get into the muck and mire of neglect and abuse that affects residents and that’s not a pretty thing and the department doesn’t like that,” said Lee.

Tuesday the Senate Committee on Elder Affairs asked why. Lee was let go after trying to find out who owned the nursing homes he was in charge of policing. The Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs says the volunteers were let go for violating the Sunshine law.

State Senator Rhonda Storms says the volunteers should have been given more information.

“That’s what the department should have done, instead what the department did was muzzled them,” said Storms.

The Administration on Aging issued this report saying the state was in violation of the Older American Act because it kept the Ombudsman from talking to journalists and lobbying the legislature.

Senators say a pattern of intimidation by the state and the industry has been set up to keep the volunteers from exposing problems in long term care facilities. They won’t be satisfied until the Ombudsman program is made independent.

Charles Corley, the Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs says all the problems have been fixed, the ombudsman can talk to the media without his permission and will registered to lobby by weeks end. Still legislation may be forthcoming to make sure a clear line is drawn between the department and the advocates