22 Va. Admin. Code § 30-60-570 - Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
A. When handling complaints, the Office of
the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall take the following steps:
1. Staff of the Office of the State Long-Term
Care Ombudsman shall provide complaint counseling to an appropriate person
alleging a reasonably specified complaint to assist such person in resolving
the complaint himself.
2. If the
person alleging a reasonably specified complaint is unable or unwilling to
resolve the complaint himself, staff of the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman will attempt to obtain reasonably specific information from the
complainant, in accordance with which staff of the Office of the State
Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall assess the complaint to determine the most
appropriate means of investigating and resolving the complaint.
a. Staff of the Office of the State Long-Term
Care Ombudsman shall investigate reasonably specified complaints reported to
the office which allege action, inaction, or decisions of providers of
long-term care services (or their representatives) which may adversely affect
the rights, health, welfare, or safety of the person complaining or the
recipient of services.
b. Staff of
the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall initiate the
investigation of a complaint within two working days of the date on which the
complaint is received.
c. Staff of
the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall refer complaints
concerning long-term care regulatory issues and allegations of abuse, neglect,
and exploitation to the appropriate agency for investigation, pursuant to
§§
51.5-139 through
51.5-142 of the Code of
Virginia.
d. When the complaint
alleges abuse, neglect, or exploitation, staff of the Office of the State
Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall make a referral by telephone immediately to the
appropriate Adult Protective Services staff in the appropriate local Department
of Social Services. "Appropriate local Department of Social Services" means the
Department of Social Services (i) in the locality where the alleging person
resides, or (ii) in the locality where the abuse, neglect, or exploitation is
alleged to have occurred, or (iii) in the locality where the complaint is
discovered.
e. Staff of the Office
of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall forward a reasonably specified
complaint to the appropriate regulatory agency or to the Adult Protective
Services unit within three working days of the date on which the complaint is
received.
f. Staff of the Office of
the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall complete their investigation of a
complaint handled by the office within 45 working days of the date on which the
complaint is received.
g. No action
shall be taken or threatened by any long-term care provider or facility for the
purpose of punishing or retaliating against any resident, ombudsman, employee,
or other interested person for presenting a complaint under this regulation or
for providing assistance to the complaining party.
B. Staff of the Office of the
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall comply with the provisions of
confidentiality required by §
51.5-141 of the Code of Virginia
and the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (§
2.2-3800 et seq. of the Code of
Virginia) concerning confidentiality with respect to the identity of the
alleging person or the service recipient and the records maintained by the
office.
C. Staff of the Office of
the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall provide identifying information to the
Adult Protective Services unit of the Department of Social Services concerning
the affected person or service recipient alleged to be a victim of abuse,
neglect, or exploitation.
D. Staff
of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman may provide identifying
information to appropriate agencies involved in the investigation of
complaints, at the discretion of the State Ombudsman.
E. All substate ombudsman representatives,
when acting for or on behalf of the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman pursuant to a duly executed contract between the substate ombudsman
program in the Area Agency on Aging and the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman in the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services,
shall be bound by the provisions of subsections A through C of this
section.
F. Section
51.5-140 of the Code of Virginia
provides to the staff of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman the
right of access to long-term care facilities and to the residents and records
of such facilities.
G. All substate
ombudsman representatives, when acting for or on behalf of the Office of the
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman pursuant to a duly executed contract between the
substate ombudsman program in the Area Agency on Aging and the Office of the
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the Virginia Department for Aging and
Rehabilitative Services, shall be provided the same rights of access as those
set forth in subsection F of this section.
Notes
Statutory Authority
§ 51.5-131 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 3001 et seq.
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