The families of the alleged abuse victims at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea — under their organization Families Against Nursing Home Abuse Support & Advocacy Group — have been given a seat on the Vulnerable Adult Justice Project, which aims to reform Minnesota’s Vulnerable Adult Act and other related laws.

The project, which began in 2007, brings together expertise from more than 50 different perspectives, including the state ombudsman for long-term care; elder and disability organizations such as AARP, Alzheimer’s Association and ElderCare Rights Alliance; the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office; the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services; and health care providers, to name a few.

“We are so excited to be a part of this committee and to have a voice within the state of Minnesota’s legislative realm,” writes Families Against Nursing Home Abuse founders Myrna Sorensen and Jan Reshetar, in an e-mail to the Tribune. “Our fervent prayer is that our voices will be heard, and that we can help affect change that will further protect those people currently in nursing homes, and all those who will be entering a long-term care facility in the future, from neglect, abuse and early death.”

In 2009, the committee members worked on legislation tackling financial exploitation, supporting community notification when vulnerable adults are missing, and establishing a model for a streamlined reporting and response system.

In light of the high profile assault cases in nursing homes — of which Albert Lea was a part — the group sought to raise public awareness of protecting vulnerable adults.

Though the local families are just starting out on the committee, Reshetar said she and her husband met one-on-one with the leaders of the Vulnerable Adult Justice Project for two hours in September. They got the chance to explain many of their concerns about long-term care facilities.

Reshetar said she’s not yet sure what the members of the committee will present to the state Legislature this year, but she knows they will have another meeting in November to hear more.

“It feels phenomenal,” she said. “I’m really hugely surprised that we have come as far as we have. In all actuality, our group didn’t have its first meeting until January 2009. For us to be sitting on a state legislative committee — wow. I’m not sure that things normally go that fast.”

The Families Against Nursing Home Abuse group formed after the Freeborn County Attorney’s Office filed charges in December against defendants Brianna Broitzman and Ashton Larson for alleged abuse at Good Samaritan Society. Both Broitzman and Larson face at least 10 charges related to the abuse, including fifth-degree assault, criminal abuse by a caregiver and mandatory failure to report suspected abuse. Four others were also charged as juveniles in the case.

The Department of Health report concluded four teenagers were involved in verbal, sexual and emotional abuse of 15 residents at the nursing home in Albert Lea. The residents suffered from mental degradation conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Since, the alleged victims families have worked diligently to spread the message of change and improvement for not only their loved ones but all others in long-term care.

Reshetar said state ombudsman Jean Patzner-Mueller has been instrumental in all that the families have been able to achieve.

“They have been telling us all along that we have an incredibly strong voice,” Reshetar said. “We have lived the nightmare, we are surviving the nightmare, and our voices are extremely important because of that fact.”

The Families Against Nursing Home Abuse Support & Advocacy Group can be found online at www.familiesagainstnursinghomeabuse.com.