50-10.1 Long-Term Care Ombudsmen
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<![CDATA[CHAPTER 50-10.1LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMEN50-10.1-01. Definitions. As used in this chapter:1."Administrative action" means any action or decision made by an owner, employee,<br>or agent of a long-term care facility, or by a public agency, which affects the<br>provision of services to a resident of a long-term care facility.2."Department" means the department of human services.3."Long-term care facility" means any skilled nursing facility, basic care facility, nursing<br>home as defined in subsection 3 of section 43-34-01, assisted living facility, or<br>swing-bed hospital approved to furnish long-term care services; provided, that a<br>facility, as defined by subsection 2 of section 25-01.2-01, providing services to<br>developmentally disabled persons is not a long-term care facility.4."Resident" means a person residing in and receiving personal care from a long-term<br>care facility.50-10.1-02. Appointment of state and regional long-term care ombudsmen. Theexecutive director of the department shall appoint a state long-term care ombudsman and such<br>regional long-term care ombudsmen as the executive director deems necessary within the limits<br>of legislative appropriations.50-10.1-03. Duties of state long-term care ombudsman. The state long-term careombudsman shall:1.Investigate and resolve complaints about administrative actions that may adversely<br>affect or may have adversely affected the health, safety, welfare, or personal or civil<br>rights of persons in long-term care facilities or persons who have been discharged<br>from long-term care facilities within nine months of the complaint against the facility.2.Monitor the development and implementation of federal, state, and local laws,<br>regulations, and policies that relate to long-term care facilities in the state.3.Gather and disseminate information to public agencies about the problems of<br>persons in long-term care facilities.4.Train volunteers and assist in the development of citizen organizations to participate<br>in the ombudsman programs.5.Report to any state agency those factors found by the state long-term care<br>ombudsman to relate to those duties of that agency which impact on the care given<br>to residents of a long-term care facility in this state.6.Act as an advocate for residents of long-term care facilities.7.Carry out any activities consistent with the requirements of this chapter, including the<br>delegation to regional or volunteer community long-term care ombudsmen of any<br>duties imposed by this chapter, which the executive director of the department<br>deems appropriate.8.Adopt rules in accordance with chapter 28-32 consistent with and necessary for the<br>implementation and enforcement of this chapter.Page No. 150-10.1-04. Access to facilities and records. To carry out the powers and duties ofthis chapter, the state long-term care ombudsman and the ombudsman's authorized agents<br>shall:1.Have reasonable access to all long-term care facilities within the state and shall<br>have private access to any resident within any long-term care facility within the state.<br>Reasonable access is defined as access by an ombudsman during normal working<br>hours or by appointment and upon notification to the administrator or person in<br>charge of the facility.2.Have access to all personal and medical records of any resident of a long-term care<br>facility who has sought ombudsman services, or on whose behalf such services<br>have been sought, except that no record may be obtained without the written<br>consent of a resident or a legal representative of a resident, or unless a court orders<br>the disclosure.50-10.1-05. Chapter to be posted - Retaliation prohibited. A copy of this chaptermust be posted in a conspicuous place in each long-term care facility, along with a statement of<br>the right to file a complaint concerning administrative actions which affect any resident and the<br>address where a complaint may be filed. Each resident, the spouse of each resident having a<br>spouse, and any designated representative of a resident must be provided with copies of the<br>posted documents at the time the resident is admitted to the long-term care facility. A long-term<br>care facility, and its agents, may not take or threaten retaliatory action against a resident,<br>employee, or any other person on account of the filing of a complaint by or on behalf of that<br>resident, or on account of the providing of information to a long-term care ombudsman<br>constituting or relating to a complaint.50-10.1-06.Establishment of reporting system - Recognition of reports byombudsmen. The department shall establish a statewide uniform reporting system to collect<br>and analyze information on complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities for the purpose<br>of identifying and resolving significant problems. The department shall submit this information to<br>the appropriate state agency which is responsible for the licensing or certification of the long-term<br>care facility involved and to the appropriate federal agency. Each state agency responsible for<br>licensing or certification of long-term care facilities shall coordinate its activities with the statewide<br>uniform reporting system by submitting to the department in a timely manner all complaints and<br>information it receives on conditions that adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or personal<br>or civil rights of residents; provided, that the information is not privileged under the law. The<br>ombudsman program may recognize investigative reports conducted by an appropriate agency<br>or organization.50-10.1-07. Confidentiality and disclosure of records and files. Those records andfiles of the state and regional ombudsman, and their authorized agents, which relate to, or<br>identify any resident of a long-term care facility or a complainant, are confidential and may not be<br>disclosed unless:1.A resident, or a legal guardian or attorney in fact, consents in writing to the release<br>of the information and designates to whom the information must be disclosed;2.The ombudsman authorizes a disclosure which does not reveal the identity of any<br>complainant or resident; or3.A court of competent jurisdiction orders the disclosure.Page No. 2Document Outlinechapter 50-10.1 long-term care ombudsmen]]>