Source: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/33/075
Timestamp: 2020-01-28 15:49:46
Document Index: 449182443

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3058', '§ 1324', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 94', '§ 1', '§ 7502', '§ 3058', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 4', '§ 3', '§ 139', '§ 1', '§ 7505', '§ 1324', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 7507', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 7508', '§ 1', '§ 95', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 195']

Chapter 075: STATE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN
(1) "Long-term care" means services and supports received by an individual in a long-term care facility or provided to an individual through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration.
(2) "Long-term care facility" means a residential care home, an assisted living residence or nursing home as defined by section 7102 of this title, or any other similar adult care home that is licensed or required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 71 of this title.
(4) "Older person" means an individual who is 60 years of age or older.
(5) "Representatives of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman" or "representatives of the Office" means the employees or volunteers designated by the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to carry out the duties of the Office, regardless of whether supervision is provided by the Ombudsman, his or her designee, or an agency hosting a local Ombudsman entity designated by the Ombudsman.
(6) "Resident" means an older person or an individual with disabilities who is 18 years of age or older who resides in a long-term care facility or receives long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration.
(7) "Resident representative" means any of the following:
(A) an individual chosen by the resident to act on his or her behalf in order to support the resident with decision making; accessing the resident's own medical, social, or other personal information; managing financial matters; receiving notifications; or a combination of these;
(B) a person authorized by State or federal law, including an agent under a power of attorney or advance directive, a representative payee, or another fiduciary, to act on the resident's behalf to support the resident with decision making; accessing the resident's own medical, social, or other personal information; managing financial matters; receiving notifications; or a combination of these;
(C) legal representative, as used in Section 712 of the federal Older Americans Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3058g; or
(D) the resident's court-appointed guardian or conservator.
(8) "State Long-Term Care Ombudsman" or "Ombudsman" means the individual selected from among individuals with expertise and experience in the fields of long-term care and advocacy who heads the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and is responsible personally, or through representatives of the Office, to fulfill the functions, responsibilities, and duties set forth in 45 C.F.R. §§ 1324.13 and 1324.19.
(9) "Willful interference" means an individual's action taken or failure to act in an intentional attempt to prevent, interfere with, or impede the Ombudsman or a representative of the Office from performing any of his or her functions, responsibilities, or duties. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 56, § 3, eff. June 13, 2005; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 94, eff. May 20, 2014; 2017, No. 23, § 1.)
§ 7502. Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman established
The Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman is established in the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to represent the interests of older persons and persons with disabilities under 60 years of age receiving long-term care in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the Older Americans Act. Subject to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 3058g, the Department may operate the Office and carry out the program directly or by contract or other arrangement with any public agency or nonprofit private organization. The Office shall be headed by the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1993, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2005, No. 56, § 3, eff. June 13, 2005; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 139; 2017, No. 23, § 1.)
§ 7505. Cooperation of State agencies
(a) All State agencies shall comply with reasonable requests of the Ombudsman for information and assistance and shall comply with the requirements for State agencies set forth in 45 C.F.R. § 1324.15.
(b) The Secretary of Human Services may adopt rules necessary to ensure that departments within the Agency of Human Services cooperate with the Ombudsman's office. Cooperation shall include providing information regarding conditions and care in long-term care facilities. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2017, No. 23, § 1.)
§ 7507. Immunity
No civil liability shall attach to the Ombudsman or any representative of the Office for good faith performance of the functions, responsibilities, or duties imposed by this chapter. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2017, No. 23, § 1.)
§ 7508. Interference and retaliation
(a) A person who engages in willful interference as defined in this chapter shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(b) A person who takes discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action against an employee, resident, or volunteer of a long-term care facility, an entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration, or an agency for any communication made, or information disclosed, to aid the Ombudsman's office in carrying out its functions, duties, and responsibilities, unless the original communication or disclosure was done maliciously or without good faith, shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both. An employee, resident, or volunteer of a long-term care facility, an entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration, or an agency may seek damages in Superior Court against a person who takes such action prohibited by this subsection. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 95; 2017, No. 23, § 1.)
(a) The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living and the Ombudsman shall identify organizational conflicts of interest that may impact the effectiveness and credibility of the Ombudsman's office and shall remove or remedy any such conflicts. Organizational conflicts include placement of the Ombudsman's office, or requiring that the Ombudsman or a representative of the Office perform conflicting activities, in an organization that:
(2) is an association or an affiliate of an association of long-term care facilities or of any other entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration;
(3) has any ownership or investment interest in, or receives grants or donations from, a long-term care facility;
(4) has any officer or governing board member with any ownership, investment, or employment interest in a long-term care facility or an entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration;
(5) provides long-term care to residents;
(6) provides long-term care coordination or case management for residents;
(9) is responsible for eligibility determinations for patients regarding Medicaid or other public benefits;
(12) provides guardianship, conservatorship, or other fiduciary or surrogate decision-making services for residents.
(b) To avoid individual conflicts of interest that may impact the effectiveness and credibility of the work of the Ombudsman's office, the Ombudsman shall develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that neither the Ombudsman nor representatives of the Office are required or permitted to hold positions or perform duties that would constitute an individual conflict of interest. Individual conflicts of interest for an Ombudsman, representatives of the Office, and members of their immediate families include:
(1) direct involvement in the licensing or certification of a long-term care facility;
(2) ownership, operational, or investment interest in an existing or proposed long-term care facility or other entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration;
(3) an individual's employment by, or participation in the management of, a long-term care facility in this State or an individual's employment by the owner or operator of any long-term care facility in this State;
(4) receipt of, or the right to receive, directly or indirectly, remuneration under a compensation arrangement with an owner or operator of a long-term care facility;
(5) acceptance of gifts or gratuities of significant value from a long-term care facility or its management, or from a resident or resident representative of a long-term care facility in which the Ombudsman or a representative of the Office provides services, except if the individual has a personal relationship with a resident or resident representative separate from the individual's role as the Ombudsman or representative of the Office;
(6) acceptance of money or any other consideration from anyone other than the Ombudsman's office, or an entity approved by the Ombudsman, for the performance of an act in the regular course of duties of the Ombudsman or of representatives of the Office, without the Ombudsman's approval;
(7) serving as a guardian, conservator, or in another fiduciary or surrogate decision-making capacity for a resident of a long-term care facility in which the Ombudsman or a representative of the Office provides services; and
(8) providing services to residents of a long-term care facility in which an immediate family member resides.
(c) The Ombudsman, consistent with the requirements of the Older Americans Act, shall be able to speak on behalf of the interest of individuals receiving long-term care and to carry out all duties prescribed in this chapter without being made subject to any disciplinary or retaliatory personnel or other action as a consequence of so doing. The Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living shall establish a committee of not fewer than five persons, who represent the interests of individuals receiving long-term care and who are not State employees, for the purpose of ensuring that the Ombudsman program is free from conflicts of interest. The Commissioner shall solicit from this committee its assessment of the Ombudsman program's capacity to operate in accordance with this section and shall submit that assessment as an appendix to the report required under subdivision 7503(10) of this title. The Department, in consultation with this committee, shall establish a process for periodic review and identification of conflicts within the Ombudsman program. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 56, § 3, eff. June 13, 2005; 2017, No. 23, § 1; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 195.)