As used in the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Act:

A. "adult protective services" means the agency's adult protective services division that receives and investigates reports of adult abuse, neglect or exploitation;

B. "agency" means the aging and long-term services department;

C. "care" means assistance with the activities of daily living, including eating, dressing, oral hygiene, bathing, mobility, toileting, grooming, taking medications, transferring from a bed or chair and walking;

D. "director" means the secretary of aging and long-term services;

E. "informed consent" means an agreement by a resident or a resident's surrogate decision-maker to allow a disclosure of information, made with full knowledge of the risks involved and the available alternatives, that is made in writing or through the use of auxiliary aids and services or communicated by a resident or a resident's surrogate decision-maker orally, visually or through the use of auxiliary aids and services and such consent is documented contemporaneously by a representative of the office;

F. "licensing and certification" means the licensing and certification bureau of the department of health;

G. "long-term care facility" means any residential facility that provides care to one or more persons unrelated to the owner or operator of the facility, including:

(1) a skilled nursing facility;

(2) an intermediate care nursing facility, including an intermediate care facility for the intellectually disabled;

(3) a nursing facility;

(4) an adult residential shelter care home;

(5) a boarding home;

(6) any other adult care home or adult residential care facility;

(7) a continuing care community;

(8) any swing bed in an acute care facility or extended care facility; and

(9) any adult daycare facility;

H. "office" means the office of the state long-term care ombudsman;

I. "Older Americans Act" means the federal Older Americans Act of 1965;

J. "ombudsman" means an employee or volunteer of the office who is trained and certified to act as a representative of the office;

K. "ombudsman coordinator" means the coordinator of a regional or local ombudsman program designated by the office;

L. "program" means the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program;

M. "resident" means any patient, client or person residing in and receiving care in a long-term care facility;

N. "state ombudsman" means the individual who heads the office and supervises the ombudsmen; and

O. "surrogate decision-maker" means any of the following:

(1) an individual chosen by a resident to act on the resident's behalf to support the resident in decision-making; accessing medical, social or other personal information of the resident; managing financial matters; or receiving notifications;

(2) an individual authorized by state or federal law, including an agent pursuant to a power of attorney, a representative payee or other fiduciary of the resident, to act on behalf of a resident to support the resident in decision-making; accessing medical, social or other personal information of the resident; managing financial matters; or receiving notifications;

(3) a resident's legal representative; or

(4) the court-appointed guardian or conservator of a resident.

History: Laws 1989, ch. 208, § 3; 1997, ch. 257, § 2; 2017, ch. 81, § 2.

Cross references. — For the federal Older Americans Act, see 42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, defined "informed consent" and revised certain definitions for terms used in the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Act; in Subsection A, after "means", deleted "the children, youth and families department pursuant to the Adult Protective Services Act" and added "the agency's adult protective services division that receives and investigates reports of adult abuse, neglect or exploitation"; in Subsection B, after "means the", deleted "state agency on", and after "aging", added "and long-term services department"; in Subsection D, after "means the", deleted "director of the state agency on" and added "secretary of", and after "aging", added "and long-term services"; added a new Subsection E and redesignated former Subsections E through N as Subsections F through O, respectively; in Subsection G, in Paragraph G(2), after "facility for the", deleted "mentally retarded" and added "intellectually disabled", and in Paragraph G(9), after "adult", changed "day care" to "daycare"; in Subsection I, after "Act", added "of 1965"; in Subsection J, after "means an", deleted "individual" and added "employee or volunteer of the office who is", and after "representative of the office", deleted "of the state long-term care ombudsman"; in Subsection K, after "office", deleted "of the state ombudsman"; in Subsection N, after "means the", deleted "state long-term care ombudsman" and added "individual who heads the office and supervises the ombudsmen"; and in Subsection O, in the introductory clause, after "surrogate", changed "decision maker" to "decision-maker", and after "means", deleted "a legally appointed agent, guardian or surrogate who is authorized to act on behalf of a resident" and added "any of the following", and added Paragraphs O(1) through O(4).

The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, added Subsections C, K, L and N, deleted former Subsection H defining "older individual", and redesignated former Subsections C through G and K as D through H and M; substituted "children, youth and families" for "human services" in Subsection A; substituted "department of health" for "health and environment department" in Subsection E; added the language beginning "any residential facility" at the end of the introductory paragraph in Subsection F; added "including an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded" at the end of Paragraph F(2); deleted former Paragraph F(3), which read "intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded"; redesignated former Paragraphs F(4) through F(10) as F(3) through F(9); added "or adult residential care facility" at the end of Paragraph F(6); deleted "health" preceding "care" in Paragraph F(9); and made stylistic changes in Subsection F.