NEWS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
COURT HOUSE, NORRISTOWN, PA., BOX 311, 19404-0311
PHONE (610) 278-3061 FAX 278-5943
COMMISSIONERS:
JAMES R. MATTHEWS, Chairman, JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Vice Chairman, BRUCE L. CASTOR, JR, Commissioner
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY 01/04/10 PR#10-01
“PEER Project” Graduation
(Pennsylvania’s Empowered Expert Residents)
ROYERSFORD — Ten newly trained PEER Project volunteers will graduate at a ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday at Parkhouse, Providence Pointe, 1600 Black Rock Road, Royersford, Pa.
Each of the trainees, eight from Parkhouse and two from Sanatoga Center, received five two-hour training sessions as part of the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services Ombudsman Program.
The PEER Project encourages a partnership between nursing home residents and facility staff to work together to solve concerns before they become more intense problems.
Training session topics included: “The Focus is on YOU”, “Building Self Resolution Skills”, and “PEER The Sky’s the Limit”.
There is also a two-hour session for facility staff to orient them to the PEER concept.
The PEER Project trains resident advocates to work from the inside with facilities/staff/residents to enhance quality of care and quality of life for their “peers.” The project was initiated by the Pennsylvania State Ombudsman Office to work in selected sites with long term care residents who have volunteered their time and expertise to self-advocate issues that will resonate for their peers.
This will be the third nursing home in Montgomery County that has PEER. Brighten at Ambler completed it’s 1st PEER training in July 2009 and Sanatoga Center, both nursing home and assisted living, have had PEER since 2005
For more information about the Ombudsman Program, becoming a Volunteer Ombudsman and the PEER Project contact Andrea Z. Murphy, Ombudsman Supervisor at 610-278-5921, Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services.
