March 1, 2019

Navigating the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) Website

The National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) website is filled with information, resources, and news from Ombudsman programs to support and inform programs across the country. Watch this short video as an introduction to the NORC website.

Website Updates

Based on your feedback, NORC updated the website in an effort to simplify the organization of resources. We archived or revised older materials, reorganized webpages, removed webpages, and added more visuals.

NORC convened a workgroup of 25 members which included both State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen and representatives of the Office (i.e. local ombudsmen). The workgroup met to discuss possible changes and provided feedback on changes. Some of the key suggestions from the workgroup that influenced changes include: 

• Use more symbols and pictures.
• Make it obvious what resources are pre and post LTCOP Final Rule.
• Make it obvious what resources are from NORC, Consumer Voice, the federal government, and Ombudsman programs.
• Add titles to the webinar list page.
• Add a picture of the resource rather than just the title of the document.
• Remove pages that include information that is already on another page, the less pages the better.
• Reduce the number of words on each page.

Based on the workgroup suggestions and responses from our annual evaluation, NORC made the following changes. 

• Updated several core resources to ensure the content is consistent with the LTCOP Final Rule, the reauthorized Older Americans Act, and/or the revised nursing home regulations (e.g., Resident-to-Resident Mistreatment: Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Advocacy; Role and Responsibilities of Ombudsman Programs Regarding Systems Advocacy; Responding to Allegations of Abuse: Role and Responsibilities of the Ombudsman Program).
• For more visual interest, we’ve started to use more images and icons in our emails and website pages. For example, our training page has icons and we added a feature where you can click on an image to take you to a resource or webpage, see here.
• We added an archive section to several pages of the website for outdated resources and information, see here.
• We added titles to the webinar page so you do not have to click on the page to see what webinars were held in each year.
• To clarify which resources are from NORC, we have separated materials into sections, such as “Resources Produced by NORC,” “Resources Produced by Ombudsman Programs,” see our training page as an example.
• We consolidated all NORS materials, data, and training on one page.
• Added a page for Ombudsman program examples in order to make issue pages shorter and only have NORC and Federal Resources on issue pages. See the Ombudsman program examples page here.
• We created a site map that lists every page within the NORC website.
• We reduced the number of program management sub-pages from 14 to 7.
• Edited the content on a total of 129 pages.
• Deleted a total of 28 pages.

Can't See the Updates?

In order to see these changes, you must clear your browser's cache history. Clearing your cache is simple. In Google Chrome click the three dots that indicate "More" in the top right corner. Then click "More tools" and "Clear browsing data." At the top, choose a time range and be sure to check the box "Cached images and files."

Explore the Website with an Online Treasure Hunt!

Test your knowledge of the NORC website by doing an online treasure hunt to better acquaint yourself with how resources are organized. The rules are simple, there are ten questions, find them all at once, or one a week. Challenge your co-workers and volunteers! The prize is learning to quickly find resources and information you need to better advocate for residents.

Learn about the different sections of the website and how to better navigate the pages with these helpful tips and visit the site map to see all pages within our website. If you have any questions, email ombudcenter@theconsumervoice.org.

Read archived issues of NORC Notes here. If you have a question, are not able to find a resource, or want to share training materials or program practices, please email ombudcenter@theconsumervoice.org.