GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION
CHAPTER 254
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 143B-181.15 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-181.15. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program/Office; policy.
The General Assembly finds that a significant number of older
citizens of this State reside in long-term care facilities and are dependent on
others to provide their care. It is the intent of the General Assembly to
protect and improve the quality of care and life for residents through the
establishment of a program to assist residents and providers in the resolution
of complaints or common concerns, to promote community involvement and
volunteerism in long-term care facilities, and to educate the public about the
long-term care system. It is the further intent of the General Assembly
that the Department of Human Resources, within available resources and pursuant
to its duties under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §
3001-3057g, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., ensure that the quality of
care and life for these residents is maintained, that necessary reports are
made, and that, when necessary, corrective action is taken at the Department
level.”
Sec. 2. G.S. 143B-181.16 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-181.16. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program/Office; definition.
Unless the content clearly requires otherwise, as used in this Article:
(1) 'Long-term care
facility' means any skilled nursing facility and intermediate care facility as
defined in G.S. 131A-(4) G.S. 131A-3(4) or any domiciliary home
as defined in G.S. 131D-20(2).
(2) 'Resident' means any person who is receiving treatment or care in any long-term care facility.
(3) 'State Ombudsman' means the State Ombudsman as defined by the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., who carries out the duties and functions established by this Article.
(4) 'Regional Ombudsman' means a person employed by an Area Agency on Aging to carry out the functions of the Regional Ombudsman Office established by this Article."
Sec. 3. G.S. 143B-181.18 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-181.18. Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program/State Ombudsman duties.
The State Ombudsman shall:
(1) Promote community
involvement with long-term care provider providers and residents
of long-term care facilities and serve as liaison between residents, residents'
families, facility personnel, and facility administration;
(2) Supervise the Long-Term Care Program pursuant to rules adopted by the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources pursuant to G.S. 143B-10;
(3) Certify regional
ombudsmen. Certification requirements shall include an internship internship,
training in the aging process, complaint resolution, long-term care issues,
mediation techniques, recruitment and training of volunteers, and relevant
federal, State, and local laws, policies, and standards;
(4) Attempt to resolve complaints made by or on behalf of individuals who are residents of long-term care facilities, which complaints relate to administrative action that may adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of residents;
(5) Provide training and technical assistance to regional ombudsmen;
(6) Establish procedures
for appropriate access by regional ombudsmen to long-term care facilities and
residents' records including procedures to protect the confidentiality of these
records and to ensure that the identity of any complainant or resident will not
be disclosed without the written consent of the complainant or resident or
upon court order; except as permitted under the Older Americans Act of
1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.;
(7) Analyze data relating to complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities to identify significant problems and recommend solutions;
(8) Prepare an annual report containing data and findings regarding the types of problems experienced and complaints reported by residents as well as recommendations for resolutions of identified long-term care issues;
(9) Prepare findings regarding public education and community involvement efforts and innovative programs being provided in long-term care facilities; and
(10) Provide information to public agencies, and through the State Ombudsman, to legislators, and others regarding problems encountered by residents or providers as well as recommendations for resolution."
Sec. 4. G.S. 143B-181.20(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) The State and Regional
Ombudsman may enter any long-term care facility and may have reasonable access
to any resident in the reasonable pursuit of his function. The Ombudsman
may communicate privately and confidentially with residents of the facility
individually or in groups. The Ombudsman shall have access to the patient
records of any resident, under procedures established by the State Ombudsman
pursuant to G.S.143B-181.18(6), provided that the medical and personal
financial records pertaining to an individual resident may be inspected only
with the permission of the resident or his legally appointed guardian, if any. as
permitted under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001
et seq., and under procedures established by the State Ombudsman
pursuant to G.S. 143B-181.18(6). Entry shall be conducted in a manner
that will not significantly disrupt the provision of nursing or other care to
residents and if the long-term care facility requires registration of all
visitors entering the facility, then the State or Regional Ombudsman must also
register. Any State or Regional Ombudsman who discloses any information
obtained from the patient's medical or personal financial records without a
court order or without authorization in writing from the resident, or his legal
representative, records except as permitted under the Older Americans
Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., is guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor."
Sec. 5. G.S. 143B-181.22 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-181.22. State/Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman; confidentiality.
The identity of any complainant, resident on whose behalf
a complaint is made, or individual providing information on behalf of the
resident or complainant relevant to the attempted resolution of a complaint is
confidential and may be disclosed only with the express permission of the
person. The information produced by the process of complaint resolution
may be disclosed by the State Ombudsman or Regional Ombudsman only if the
identity of any such person is not disclosed by name or inference. If the
identity of any such person is disclosed by name or inference in such
information, the information may be disclosed only with his express
permission. If the complaint becomes the subject of a judicial
proceeding, the investigative information may be disclosed for the purpose of
the proceeding.
The identity of any complainant, resident on whose behalf a complaint is made, or any individual providing information on behalf of the resident or complainant relevant to the attempted resolution of the complaint along with the information produced by the process of complaint resolution is confidential and shall be disclosed only as permitted under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq."
Sec. 6. G.S. 131D-32(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e) Each committee shall
apprise itself of the general conditions under which the persons are residing
in the homes, and shall work for the best interests of the persons in the
homes. This may include assisting persons who have grievances with the home and
facilitating the resolution of grievances at the local level. The
names of all complaining persons and the names of residents involved in the
complaint shall remain confidential unless written permission is given for
disclosure. The identity of any complainant or resident involved in a
complaint shall not be disclosed except as permitted under the Older Americans
Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq. The committee shall
notify the enforcement agency of all verified violations of the Domiciliary
Home Residents' Bill of Rights."
Sec. 7. G.S. 131E-128(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h) (1) Each committee shall apprise itself of the general conditions under which the persons are residing in the homes, and shall work for the best interests of the persons in the homes. This may include assisting persons who have grievances with the home and facilitating the resolution of grievances at the local level.
(2) Each committee shall quarterly visit the nursing home it serves. For each official quarterly visit, a majority of the committee members shall be present. In addition, each committee may visit the nursing home it serves whenever it deems it necessary to carry out its duties. In counties with four or more nursing homes, the subcommittee assigned to a home shall perform the duties of the committee under this subdivision, and a majority of the subcommittee members must be present for any visit.
(3) Each member of a committee shall have the right between 10:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. to enter into the facility the committee serves in order to carry out the members' responsibilities. In a county where subcommittees have been established, this right of access shall be limited to homes served by those subcommittees to which the member has been appointed.
(4) The committee or
subcommittee may communicate through its chair with the Department or any other
agency in relation to the interest of any patient. The names of all
complaining persons shall remain confidential unless written permission is
given for disclosure. identity of any complainant or resident involved
in a complaint shall not be disclosed except as permitted under the Older
Americans Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.
(5) Each home shall cooperate with the committee as it carries out its duties.
(6) Before entering into any nursing home, the committee, subcommittee, or member shall identify itself to the person present at the facility who is in charge of the facility at that time."
Sec. 8. This act becomes effective July 1, 1995.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 15th day of June, 1995.
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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives