There is established a Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for the District of Columbia within the Office on Aging. The program shall provide a comprehensive continuum of advocacy services for older persons and other persons who are residents in the District, which shall include:
(1) Advocating for the rights of older persons and other persons who are residents;
(2) Investigating and resolving any complaint made by or on behalf of an older person or other person who is a resident; and
(3) Monitoring the quality of care, services provided, and quality of life experienced by older persons and residents to ensure that the care and services are in accordance with applicable District and federal laws.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 201, 36 DCR 534.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3511.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
(a) The program shall be administered by a full-time ombudsman and shall be under the Director of the Office on Aging ("Director") or his or her designee. The Director shall appoint the ombudsman for a term of 2 years and approve of the designee of the ombudsman. The ombudsman shall be a resident of the District.
(b) The Director may contract with a nonprofit provider, other than the District government, to operate the program. The provider shall have experience advocating for the rights of older persons and residents. The ombudsman shall be an employee of the nonprofit provider.
(c) The Director shall ensure that the following are provided to the ombudsman or his or her designee to implement the provisions of this chapter:
(1) Legal counsel for advice and consultation;
(2) Legal representation, if legal action is taken to implement the provisions of this chapter; and
(3) Clerical and administrative support staff and materials.
(d) The primary responsibility of the ombudsman or his or her designee shall be the investigation and resolution of any complaint made by or on behalf of a resident.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 202, 36 DCR 534.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3512.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
(a) The ombudsman shall have training and experience in the following areas:
(1) Gerontology, long-term care, health care, or relevant social services program;
(2) The legal system;
(3) Dispute resolution techniques, including investigation, mediation, or negotiation; and
(4) Long-term care advocacy.
(b) No person who has been employed by a long-term care facility or a corporation that directly or indirectly owned or operated a long-term care facility within the past 2 years shall be an ombudsman.
(c) Neither the ombudsman nor any member of his or her immediate family shall have any pecuniary interest in a long-term care facility.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 203, 36 DCR 534.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3513.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
(a) The ombudsman shall:
(1) Receive, investigate, and resolve complaints or concerns made by or on behalf of residents;
(2) Promote the well-being and quality of life of each resident;
(3) Encourage the development and the expansion of the activities of the program in all wards of the District, sufficient to serve the residents in those wards;
(4) Submit to the Office on Aging for submission to the Council and the Mayor annual reports that document complaints received and resolved and recommend policy, regulatory, or legislative changes;
(5) Enter into, on behalf of the Office on Aging and with the approval of the Director, written agreements of understanding, cooperation, and collaboration with any District government agency that provides funding, oversight, or inspection of, or operates a long-term care facility;
(6) Establish and implement program policies and procedures to elicit, receive, investigate, verify, refer, and resolve residents' complaints;
(7) Develop an on-going program for publicizing the program;
(8) Identify, document, and address solutions to problems affecting residents;
(9) Serve as the legal representative for residents, pursuant to §§ 44- 1003.02(e), 44-1003.03(a)(1), and 44-1003.07(a) and (b);
(10) Repealed.
(11) Establish a uniform system to record data on complaints and conditions relating to long-term care services;
(12) Monitor the development and implementation of district and federal laws, rules, regulations, and policies that affect residents;
(13) Make specific recommendations, through the Office on Aging, to the operator or agent of the operator of any long-term care facility, whenever the ombudsman believes that conditions exist that adversely affect residents' health, safety, welfare, or rights;
(14) Report to the appropriate enforcement agency any act of an operator of a long-term care facility or home care agency that the ombudsman believes to be a violation of an applicable federal or District law, regulation, or rule;
(15) Establish and conduct a training program for persons employed by or associated with the program, which shall include training in the following areas:
(A) The review of medical records;
(B) Regulatory requirements for long-term care facilities;
(C) Confidentiality of records;
(D) Techniques of complaint investigation;
(E) The effects of institutionalization; and
(F) The special needs of the elderly;
(16) Assist in the formation, development, and use by residents, their families, and friends of forums that permit residents, their families, and friends to discuss and communicate, on a regular and continuing basis, their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the operation of the facility, the quality of care provided, and the quality of life fostered in long-term care facilities;
(17) Establish and maintain procedures to protect the confidentiality of the records of residents and long-term care facilities where access is authorized pursuant to § 7-703.02;
(18) Prohibit any employee, designee, or representative of the program from investigating any complaint or representing the ombudsman, unless that person has received training in accordance with paragraph (15) of this subsection; and
(19) Designate local ombudsman programs to act on behalf of the ombudsman within specific geographical areas.
(b) No person, agency, or long-term care facility shall obstruct the ombudsman or his or her designee from the lawful performance of any duty or the exercise of any power.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 204, 36 DCR 534; Feb. 5, 1994, D.C. Law 10-68, § 18, 40 DCR 6311; Mar. 12, 2011, D.C. Law 18-321, § 2(b), 57 DCR 12438; Mar. 14, 2012, D.C. Law 19-111, § 2(b), 59 DCR 455; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 54(a), 59 DCR 6190.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3514.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-321 rewrote subsecs. (a)(1), (4), (6); repealed subsec. (a)(10); in subsec. (a)(11), substituted "Establish a uniform system to record data on complaints and conditions relating to long-term care services;" for "Establish a system for coordinating a uniform District-wide system to record data on complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities;"; and, in subsec. (a)(13), substituted "conditions exist that adversely affect residents' health, safety, welfare, or rights;" for ""conditions which adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of a resident exist within the long-term care facility;". Prior to amendment or repeal, subsecs. (a)(1), (4), (6), and (10) read as follows:
"(1) Investigate and resolve complaints and concerns made by or on behalf of older persons and other residents in the District;"
"(4) Submit annually, to the Office on Aging for submission to the Council and the Mayor, a written report documenting the complaints received and resolved, and recommending policy, regulatory, or legislative changes;"
"(6) Establish and implement program policies and procedures for eliciting, receiving, investigating, verifying, referring, and resolving complaints of residents;"
"(10) Report any instance of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a resident to the Office of Adult Protective Services, within the Department of Human Services, and the Service Facility Regulation Administration, within the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, within 24 hours of receipt of a complaint or information concerning suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation;"
D.C. Law 19-111, in subsec. (a)(1), substituted "Receive, investigate," for "Investigate"; and, in subsec. (a)(14), substituted "long-term care facility or home care agency" for "long-term care facility".
D.C. Law 19-171, in subsec. (a)(6), validated a previously made technical correction.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
Law 10-68, the "Technical Amendments Act of 1993," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 10-166, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on June 29, 1993, and July 13, 1993, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on August 23, 1993, it was assigned Act No. 10-107 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 10-68 became effective on February 5, 1994.
For history of Law 18-321, see notes under § 7-701.01.
For history of Law 19-111, see notes under § 7-701.01.
For history of Law 19-171, see notes under § 7-242.
(a) The ombudsman and his or her designee shall have access to any record that is necessary to carry out his or her responsibilities under this chapter.
(b) The ombudsman or his or her designee may initiate an investigation of a long-term care facility independent of the receipt of a specific complaint.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 205, 36 DCR 534.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3515.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
(a) The program shall protect the confidentiality of the records (electronic or hard copy) of the residents and employees.
(b) No information or records (electronic or hard copy) maintained by the program shall be disclosed to the public.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the program shall not disclose the identity of any complainant, resident involved in a complaint, witness, or representative of a resident, unless the complainant, resident, or representative of a resident authorizes the disclosure.
(d) A court may order the disclosure of information made confidential under this chapter if it determines that the disclosure is necessary to enforce this chapter.
(e) A communication between a resident and a person who has access under § 7-703.01 shall be confidential, unless the resident authorizes the release of the communication or unless disclosure is authorized under § 7-702.04(a)(1) or subsection (d) of this section.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 206, 36 DCR 534; Mar. 12, 2011, D.C. Law 18-321, § 2(c), 57 DCR 12438; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 54(b), 59 DCR 6190.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3516.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-321, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted "records (electronic or hard copy)" for "records"; in subsec. (c), substituted "Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the program" for "the program"; and added subsecs. (d) and (e).
D.C. Law 19-171, in subsec. (c), validated a previously made technical correction.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
For history of Law 18-321, see notes under § 7-701.01.
For history of Law 19-171, see notes under § 7-242.
(a) No employee, designee, or representative of the program shall be held liable for the good faith performance of responsibilities under this chapter, except that no immunity shall extend to criminal acts.
(b) Repealed.
(c) No communication made by the ombudsman or his or her designee, if reasonably related to the requirements of his or her responsibilities, shall be subject to civil action.
(d) Repealed.
(Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-218, § 207, 36 DCR 534; Mar. 12, 2011, D.C. Law 18-321, § 2(d), 57 DCR 12438.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 6-3517.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-321 repealed subsecs. (b) and (d); and, in subsec. (c), substituted "action" for "action for libel or slander". Prior to repeal, subsecs. (b) and (d) read as follows:
"(b) No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action shall be taken against an employee of a long-term care facility or agency, resident, or representative of the program, for any communication made to aid the program in carrying out its duties and responsibilities, unless the communication was made maliciously or in bad faith. This subsection shall not be construed to infringe upon the rights of an employer to supervise, discipline, or terminate an employee for other reasons."
"(d) A court may order the disclosure of information made confidential under this chapter, if it determines that the disclosure is necessary to enforce this chapter."
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 7-218, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-701.01.
For history of Law 18-321, see notes under § 7-701.01.
