Buncombe County lacks volunteer ombudsmen as senior population grows
Only eight of 46 volunteer ombudsman seats are filled in Buncombe County, leaving 40 long-term care facilities with thinner oversight as the county ages.
Buncombe County’s volunteer ombudsman network has 43 openings and fewer than a quarter of those seats are filled, leaving just eight volunteers to help watch over nursing homes, adult care homes and family care homes across the county. Those volunteers hear complaints, check conditions and press for residents’ rights.
North Carolina’s long-term care ombudsman system is built around one state office and 16 regional offices housed in Area Agencies on Aging. In Buncombe, the program runs through the Land of Sky Regional Council Area Agency on Aging, which serves Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties. State law makes community advisory committees representatives of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and those committees help preserve the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights and the Adult Care Home Residents’ Bill of Rights.
Nursing home committees visit facilities quarterly. Adult care home committees also visit quarterly, and family care homes annually. In Buncombe, the two community advisory committees have 46 available spots. Those volunteers are responsible for quarterly visits to 40 registered adult care homes and nursing homes, plus annual visits to 25 family care homes.
The county had about 277,400 residents in 2025, and about 61,900 residents age 65 or older in 2024, or 22.2% of the population. By 2036, one in four Buncombe residents is projected to be 65 or older, and adults over 65 accounted for 96.1% of the county’s population increase from 2020 to 2022.
Ombudsmen help residents resolve grievances, explain long-term care options, provide facility information and educate communities and providers.
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