New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 41 - OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSPERSON FOR THE INSTITUTIONALIZED ELDERLY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE RULES › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 17:41-1.3 - Contact with the Office; information about rights and entitlements; communications

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Any
				person may contact the Office to report any complaints concerning the health,
				safety and welfare, and the civil and human rights of institutionalized elderly
				persons.
(b) The Office may be
				contacted by calling its toll-free telephone number (877-582-6995), 24 hours
				per day, any day of the year; or by writing to: The Office of the Ombudsperson
				for the Institutionalized Elderly, PO Box 852, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0852;
				via e-mail, ombudsperson@ooie.nj.gov; or facsimile, (609) 943-3479. The Office
				of the Ombudsperson is not a first responder. Individuals that require
				immediate attention in an emergency should call 911.
(c) Any correspondence or written
				communication from any resident of a facility to the Office shall, if delivered
				to or received by the facility, be promptly forwarded, unopened, by the
				facility to the Office. Any correspondence or written communication from the
				Office to any resident of a facility shall, if delivered to or received by the
				facility, be promptly forwarded, unopened, by the facility to such
				resident.
(d) The Office shall
				prepare and distribute to each facility written notices which set forth the
				address and telephone number of the Office, a brief explanation of the function
				of the Office, the procedure to follow in filing a complaint, and other
				pertinent information.
(e) The
				administrator of each facility shall ensure that such written notice, which
				shall be provided by the Office, is given to every resident or his or her next
				of kin or guardian, as appropriate, upon admission to the facility and to every
				person already in residence or his or her next of kin or guardian, as
				appropriate. The administrator shall also post such written notice in a
				conspicuous, public place in the facility.
(f) The Office shall from time to time
				publicize its existence, function and activities by informing residents, their
				families and friends, facility staff and other caregivers, government agencies
				and representatives, private organizations and community groups, and the
				general public, about the Office and its function and activities, through
				"in-service training" presentations at facilities and elsewhere, participation
				in seminars or other informational programs, contact with the press and other
				media, and direct communication, in person or in writing, including the
				submission for publication of scholarly and informational articles and other
				materials concerning the Office, its functions and activities.
(g) The Office shall make itself available
				for the purpose of informing and educating interested individuals and groups
				about general issues of concern affecting the civil and human rights of the
				institutionalized elderly.