COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4123
(By Delegates Compton, Leach, Hubbard,
Staton, Hatfield, Susman and Douglas)
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization]
[February 6, 2002]
A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article five-l, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the education and
training requirements for a regional long-term care ombudsman.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article five-l, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5L. EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH
DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS.
§16-5L-7. Regional long-term care ombudsmen; qualifications;
duties; training; certification.
(a) Each regional long-term care ombudsman program shall employ one or more regional long-term care ombudsmen to effect the
purposes of this article. The regional long-term care ombudsman
shall have either: (1) At least a four-year bachelor's degree in
gerontology, social work, health, or a related field and
demonstrated experience in one of the following areas: (A) The
field of aging; (B) health care or social service programs; (C)
community programs; or (D) long-term care issues; or (2) at least
a four-year bachelor's degree in any field and at least three years
of experience in gerontology, social work, health or a related
field.
Experience in gerontology, social work, health or a related
field may be substituted for up to two years (sixty hours) of
college on a year-for-year basis. The supervising ombudsman must
have at least a bachelor's degree in gerontology, social work,
health or a related field and demonstrated experience in one of the
following areas: (A) The field of aging; (B) health care or social
service programs; (C) community programs; and (D) long-term care
issues. Persons employed in a designated regional long-term care
ombudsman program on the date of enactment of this article may be
given a waiver from these requirements provided that within one
year from the date of enactment of this article they enter into a
program leading to a degree in gerontology, social work, health or a related field or complete fifty hours of continuing education
units in gerontology, social work, health or a related field every
two calendar year periods. The regional long-term care ombudsman
shall participate in ongoing training programs related to his or
her duties or responsibilities. The regional long-term care
ombudsman may not have been employed within the past two years
prior to the date of his or her employment under this section by
any association of long-term care facilities. If a regional
long-term care ombudsman has been employed within the past two
years prior to the date of his or her employment under this section
by a long-term care facility, or by any organization or corporation
that directly or indirectly regulates, owns or operates a long-term
care facility, that ombudsman may not act with the authority of a
regional long-term care ombudsman in the facility of prior
employment or in any other facility regulated, owned or operated by
the same ownership as the facility of prior employment.
(b) Neither the regional long-term care ombudsman nor any
member of his or her immediate family may have, or have had within
the two years preceding his or her employment under this section,
any pecuniary interest in the provision of long-term care. For the
purposes of this section, the term "immediate family" shall mean the spouse, children, natural mother, natural father, natural
brothers or natural sisters of the regional long-term care
ombudsman.
(c) The duties of the regional long-term care ombudsman shall
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Regularly monitoring long-term care facilities and
investigating complaints filed on behalf of a resident, or filed on
the regional long-term care ombudsman's own initiative, relating to
the health, safety, welfare and rights of such residents, in
accordance with complaint investigation procedures developed by the
state long-term ombudsman care program: Provided,
That nothing in
this section shall be construed as to grant a regional long-term
care ombudsman the right of entry to a long-term care facility's
drug rooms or to treatment rooms occupied by a resident unless
prior consent has been obtained from the resident;
(2) Monitoring the development and implementation of federal,
state and local laws, regulations and policies with respect to
long-term care facilities;
(3) Training certified volunteers in accordance with the
training and certification program developed by the state long-term
care ombudsman program;
(4) Encouraging, cooperating with, and assisting the
development and operation of referral services which can provide
current, valid and reliable information on long-term care
facilities and alternatives to institutionalization to persons in
need of these services and the general public;
(5) Submitting reports as required by the state long-term care
ombudsman program; and
(6) Other duties as mandated by the Older Americans Act of
1965, as amended.
(d) The state long-term care ombudsman shall develop and
implement procedures for training and certification of regional
long-term care ombudsmen. Regional long-term care ombudsmen who
satisfactorily complete the training requirements shall be
certified by the state commission on aging and shall be given
identification cards which shall be presented to employees of a
long-term care facility upon request. No regional long-term care
ombudsman may investigate any complaint filed with the West
Virginia long-term care ombudsman program unless such the person
has been certified by the state commission on aging. Consistent
with the provisions of this article and any rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to section twenty-one, certified regional
long-term ombudsmen shall be representatives of the state long-term
care ombudsman program.