SALISBURY — Long-term care ombudsman Patricia Garner Cowan will be the featured speaker at a meeting of Salisbury-Rowan AARP Chapter 4314.

The meeting will at 1 p.m. Monday at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center.

Elder abuse and volunteering in the community will be among her topics.

Cowan has been a regional long-term care ombudsman for 13 years through the Centralina Council of Governments, monitoring residents’ rights in long term care facilities, advocating for residents’ rights, investigating complaints and providing training to staff, residents and the public. Her agency covers a nine-county area, including Rowan.

Cowan has 25 years of experience working with people who have intellectual disabilities. She is a nationally certified Americans With Disabilities Act trainer through the Great Plains ADA Center and the University of Missouri and a nationally certified aging/disabilities information and referral specialist.

The local AARP monthly meetings are open to the public at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center, 1120 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month.

A yearly membership is $4; anyone 50 or older may join.

Refreshments and a social hour will follow the meeting.

For more information, call 704-216-7714.