Service as a union member is good preparation for service as an advocate on behalf of your fellow retirees. That's what NYSUT retirees have learned through their experience as ombudsmen through the New York State Office for the Aging.

When retiree Jay Broad interviewed for the ombudsman position several years ago, he mentioned his service as a NYSUT activist during the interview.

"I said I was trained by my union to be a negotiator and a mediator," Broad recalled. "And she said, 'Say no more; we want you.' "

The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program is a federal advocacy program that trains and certifies volunteers as advocates for the residents of long-term care facilities.

Ombudsmen can provide a valuable service in as little as a few hours a week.

NYSUT retirees have a long history of volunteering for this program, and new volunteers are always needed, said NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue, whose office oversees retiree issues for the union.

"We need people to take on this project," said Loretta Donlon, director of NYSUT's Retiree Election District 51. "This is a means of getting protection for people."

Donlon is also secretary of Retiree Council 7 in ED 51. She and RC 7 Treasurer Jeanette Pietrantoni co-authored a resolution passed at the 2008 NYSUT Representative Assembly to promote awareness of and support for the ombudsman program among NYSUT members.

"Those who can go through the training and be a part of this will find that it's really a value and a benefit to the families of residents in long-term care facilities," Donlon said. "Families can't always be close to the facility their loved one is in."

NYSUT retirees have had a long record of service, the state ombudsman, Mark Miller, noted.

"All of the people who go through the training are special," Miller said. "They are dealing with the most vulnerable population that we have."

Learn more about the ombudsman program and how to apply, at www.ombudsman.state.ny.us.