COAL TOWNSHIP - The Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging presented Pennsylvania Empowered Expert Residents (PEER) group at Mountain View: A Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, with a $1,000 donation that PEER will use toward projects for facility residents.
The PEER program is designed to educate residents on their facility rights and appropriate quality of care. It also provides self-advocacy training, empowers residents to respond to dignity issues and allows individuals to have a sense of control in their lives. PEER residents also have an opportunity to stay productive and involved, Mountain View reports.
PEER training is open to all residents of the facility. The training and monitoring is conducted by the Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging ombudsman staff and volunteers.
The project's goal is to train residents and facility staff to work together to solve concerns before they become more intense problems, and to train residents as advocates to work within facilities to enhance the quality of care and the quality of life for their peers throughout the state.
The PEER project was initiated by the state ombudsman office to have residents in long-term care, who have volunteered their time and expertise, to self-advocate for issues that will resonate with their peers.
Mountain View is the first initiated PEER group in the county. It was formed in 2010 and meets monthly. Its members provide the local and state ombudsman offices with regular reports of status and activities.