Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 26 - Policies and Procedures Manual for the MS Ombudsman Program › Part II - Administration of the Long-Term Ombudsman Program › Section 18-26-2-A - Program Structure

Current through June 25, 2024
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Role and Responsibilities of Mississippi
				  Department of Human Services, Division of Aging
Pursuant to the federal Older Americans Act and state law,
				  the Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Aging and Adult
				  Services (DAAS) has established the Office of the State Long-Term Care
				  Ombudsman (OSLTCO). The Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman is
				  independent in its representation of the interests of long-term care facility
				  residents, without representing the positions or policies of the Division of
				  Aging and Adult Services, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, or any
				  other governmental entity. The Mississippi Department of Human Services, Aging
				  and Adult Services, will:
a) Provide
				for a full-time State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (SLTCO);
b) Provide supervision of the SLTCO without
				interfering with its work to promote the interests of long-term care facility
				residents;
c) Not have personnel
				policies or practices which prohibit the Office of the State Ombudsman from
				performing the functions and responsibilities under the Ombudsman Final Rule as
				set forth in 45 CFR §
										1324.13 or from adhering to the access,
				confidentiality and disclosure requirements of section 712 of the
				OAA;
d) Provide the SLTCO with
				administrative support for personnel, fiscal, contractual, data, and budgetary
				management, including administration of contracts for the LTCOP and between the
				DAAS and area agencies on aging (AAAs) and/or designated provider
				agencies;
e) Provide funding for a
				statewide Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) in accordance with the OAA
				and through application of a statewide allocation formula approved by the
				SLTCO, within appropriations specifically designed for the SLTCO;
f) Provide the SLTCO with authority to manage
				funds designated for the LTCOP;
g)
				Provide opportunities for training Office of the State Long-Term Care
				Facilities Ombudsman and the Representatives of the Office of the State
				Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman and may use funds appropriated under Title
				III and/or Title VII of the Older Americans Act;
h) Monitoring the SLTCOP by ensuring that the
				State Ombudsman Program complies with the OAA and the Final Rule;
i) Ensure that the Ombudsman Program has
				sufficient access to residents, facilities and information to do their
				duties;
j) Combine the goals and
				objectives of the OSLTCO into the state and area plans on aging;
k) Provide elder rights leadership by
				coordinating Ombudsman program services with other programs authorized by Title
				VII of the OAA;
l) Provide adequate
				legal counsel to the Ombudsman Program that is free of conflicts of
				interest;
m) Ensure that any review
				of files, records or other information maintained by the Ombudsman Program is
				consistent with the disclosure limitations as set forth in
				45 CFR §
										1324.11(e)(3) and
				1324.13(e).
n) Require the OSLTCO to prepare an annual
				report for the AoA/ACL;
o) Refrain
				from interference with the LTCOP's mandate to advocate for and represent the
				interests of long-term care facility residents; and
p) Require the OSLTCO to fulfill its duty of
				systems advocacy as the State Ombudsman deems is appropriate, regardless of
				State lobbying laws.
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Role and Responsibilities of Area
				  Agencies on Aging (AAAs)
The Area Agencies on Aging or other provider agencies must
				  assure:
a) They are responsible for
				personnel management, but not the programmatic oversight, of the
				Representatives of the Office;
b)
				They maintain separate budget and expenditure accounting for the Ombudsman
				Program and it is made available to the State Ombudsman upon request;
c) That funds obtained from all sources
				related to the LTCOP are available and used for the program;
d) They will follow strict confidentiality
				requirements in handling and storing all information and records (paper and
				electronic), telephone communication and internal communication within the
				organization so as to avoid any conflicts of interest;
e) That no resident-identifying information
				shall be disclosed to individuals outside of the Ombudsman Program;
f) That there is a Memorandum of
				Understanding (MOU) between the local LTCOP and the Title IIIB Legal Services
				or an alternative written arrangement for providing advice and counsel to LTCOP
				and residents of LTC facilities;
g)
				That neither the Ombudsman nor the AAA staff is subject to a conflict of
				interest, in particular that the organization itself, its board members,
				advisory council members, employees and volunteers do not derive personal or
				economic gain from LTC facilities or their associations. An annual Conflict of
				Interest screening tool must be completed and sent to the State Ombudsman on or
				before October 31;
h) Coordination
				with the State Ombudsman in the employment process or appointment of
				Representatives of the Office of the Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman by
				ensuring that applicants do not have an individual conflict of interest as
				determined by the State Ombudsman;
i) All Ombudsman Programs must follow the
				Mississippi Ombudsman Program's Policies and Procedure Manual, in particular
				the Program Components for Ombudsman Practice;
j) That the local ombudsman program abides by
				the complaint priority guidelines established by the Office of the State
				Long-Term Care Ombudsman as set forth in the Mississippi Ombudsman Program's
				Policies and Procedure Manual;
k)
				That a minimum of one on-site visit is conducted per month to each long-term
				care facility located in the AAA's Service Area. Complaint related visits
				should be in addition to routine visits. If a facility is not legally licensed,
				but should be in accordance to §
									43-11-1 et seq of the MS Code,
				that facility remains within the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman Program. There
				must be sufficient ombudsman staff to achieve Program Components and sufficient
				travel funds to cover these visits;
l) Assure LTCO staff attendance at annual
				designation training and all other statewide LTCO training programs in addition
				to any required meetings with the State Ombudsman;
m) Each local LTCOP shall create and maintain
				a current plan for recruitment, training and supervision of volunteer
				ombudsman; and
n) There are no
				personnel policies or practices which prohibit the Ombudsman Program from
				performing the duties and functions under the Ombudsman Final Rule as set forth
				in 45 CFR §
										1324.19 or from adhering to the requirements
				of section 712 of the OAA.
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Role of State
				  Ombudsman
The State Ombudsman shall serve on a full-time basis to
				  personally or through Representatives of the Office perform the functions and
				  duties according to state and federal law. The State Ombudsman Program shall
				  provide services to protect the health, safety, welfare and rights of residents
				  in long-term care facilities. The State Ombudsman shall have training or
				  experience in the field of long-term care and advocacy, negotiation and problem
				  resolution skills, leadership and program management skills, and
				  consumer-oriented public policy advocacy. The Office of the State Ombudsman
				  shall be under the direct supervision of the Director of the Division of Aging
				  and Adult Services. The State Ombudsman shall provide leadership and
				  monitoring, including fiscal management and performance monitoring, of the
				  Mississippi Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The SLTCO shall assure that all
				  residents of long-term facilities in the State have access to the services of
				  the Mississippi Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) and that there is a designated
				  ombudsman in each service area in the state. The SLTCO is responsible for
				  providing leadership for the statewide Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Duties
				  of State Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman shall include:
1) Being responsible for oversight of the
				development and updating the requirements for the Ombudsman program by
				providing programmatic management of the Office which includes developing
				policies, procedures, and standards for the administration of the LTCOP and
				LTCO practice;
2) The State
				Ombudsman shall coordinate, where applicable, through area agency on aging
				plans to approve the contracts or plans of the Representatives of the Office of
				the State Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman and to regularly monitor their
				program performance. State Ombudsman shall provide oversight of the quality and
				program operation of the Representatives of the Office of the State Long-Term
				Care Facilities Ombudsman. However, wherever the Representatives of the Office
				of the State Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman is organizationally located,
				that agency shall be responsible for
personnel
				management
;
3) Monitoring
				the Representatives of the Office which includes the following: reviewing
				monthly reports and data entry, one on-site visit per year to each district and
				fiscal management;
4) Personally,
				or through Representatives of the Office, identify, investigate and resolve
				complaints made by or on behalf of residents in long-term care facilities that
				affect the health, safety, welfare and rights of residents in long-term care
				facilities;
5) Ensuring that
				residents have regular and timely access to the services provided through the
				Office and such residents and other complainants received timely responses to
				their complaints from the Representatives of the Office;
6) Ensuring that the LTCOP is representing
				the interests of residents before governmental agencies;
7) Informing residents how to obtain services
				through the Ombudsman Program;
8)
				Being responsible for monitoring the files, records and other information of
				the Ombudsman Program;
9)
				Prohibiting inappropriate disclosure of the identity of any complainant or
				resident with respect to LTCO files, records, or other information;
10) Implementing a proper record maintenance
				system wherein all the files, records and other information of the State
				Ombudsman Program, whether in physical, electronic or other format, shall be
				the property of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman.
				Such records are the property of the SLTCO and may not be released, disclosed,
				duplicated or removed without the written permission of the SLTCO or
				designee;
11) Providing technical
				assistance to Representatives of the Office and information and assistance
				regarding long-term care issues to the general public, residents and community
				organizations;
12) Monitoring,
				analyzing, commenting on and recommending changes to federal, state and local
				laws relating to the health, safety, welfare and rights of residents in
				long-term care facilities by communicating with legislators, the media and
				other public and private agencies;
13) Promoting resident and family councils
				and other citizen organizations and thereby relaying their concerns/information
				to legislators, the media and other public and private agencies;
14) Designation and refusal, suspension or
				removal of Designation of Representatives of the Office as per
				policy;
15) Establishing a training
				program for Representatives of the Office;
16) Receiving grievances and investigating
				allegations of misconduct by the Representatives of the Office of the State
				Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman;
17) Ensuring that there are no conflicts of
				interest with the immediate family of the State Ombudsman Program by
				establishing procedures to identify, remove or remedy such conflicts of
				interest. This shall include providing the AAAs with an organizational conflict
				of interest screening tool as well as an individual conflict of interest
				screening tool to the LTCO;
18)
				Fiscal management of the Program by determining the use of fiscal resources
				appropriated for the operation of the Program to the AAA or other contracted
				entities. This may also include determining that program budgets and
				expenditures are consistent with the laws, policies and procedures governing
				the Ombudsman Program;
19) Serve as
				the Patient Care Ombudsman pursuant to federal bankruptcy law where the debtor
				is a health care business that provides long-term care and the State Ombudsman
				is appointed by the U.S. Trustee;
20) Analyze the success and barriers of the
				Ombudsman Program and recommending systemic advocacy in evaluating the problems
				experienced by and complaints made by and on behalf of residents; and
21) Recommending public policy changes
				through providing an Annual Report to AOA/ACL; legislative and administrative
				advocacy; work with the media; collaboration with other agencies and
				advocates.