(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) By January 1, 2019, and on an annual basis thereafter, submit the report described in 45 C.F.R. § 1324.13(g);

(5) Enter into, as necessary, 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(10) Repealed.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, analyze, and make recommendations regarding the development and implementation of District and federal laws, rules, regulations, and other governmental policies and actions pertaining to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents;

(13) Make specific recommendations 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, in accordance with the disclosure requirements set forth in section 712g(d) of the Older Americans Act of 1965, approved September 30, 1992 (106 Stat. 1195; 42 U.S.C. § 3058g(d)), and 45 C.F.R. § 1324.11(e)(3));

(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, in accordance with the disclosure requirements set forth in section 712g(d) of the Older Americans Act of 1965, approved September 30, 1992 (106 Stat. 1195; 42 U.S.C. § 3058g(d)), and 45 C.F.R. § 1324.11(e)(3);

(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) Provide ongoing support as requested by residents and family councils to protect the well-being and rights of residents;

(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;

(19) Designate local ombudsman programs to act on behalf of the ombudsman within specific geographical areas; and

(20) Perform any other acts required by 45 C.F.R. §§ 1324.13 and 1324.19.

(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; July 3, 2018, D.C. Law 22-125, § 2(e), 65 DCR 5106.)

1981 Ed., § 6-3514.

This section is referenced in § 7-701.01 and § 7-702.06.

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;”.

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”.

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 validated a previously made punctuation change in (a)(6).

Section 3 of D.C. Law 19-111 provided that the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. D.C. Law 19-111, § 3, was repealed by D.C. Law 19-168, § 7013.