(a) Investigating and resolving complaints made by residents or made on their behalf;

(b) Interviewing residents, with their consent, in private;

(c) Offering the services of the ombudsman or the designee to any resident, in private;

(d) Interviewing employees or agents of the facility;

(e) Consulting regularly with the facility administration; and

(f) Providing services authorized by law or by rule.

(2)(a) The ombudsman shall have access to any resident’s records, and to records of any public agency necessary to the duties of the ombudsman, including records on reports of resident abuse made pursuant to ORS 124.050 to 124.095 and 441.630 to 441.680. The provisions of ORS 192.553 to 192.581 are not intended to limit the access of the ombudsman to medical records of residents of long term care facilities. If necessary to investigate a complaint, designees shall have access to individual resident’s records, including medical records as authorized by the resident or the resident’s legal representative.

(b) If a resident’s legal representative denies access to the resident’s records by the ombudsman or a designee, the ombudsman shall have access to the records if the ombudsman has reasonable cause to believe that the legal representative is not acting in the best interests of the resident.

(3) The ombudsman shall enter into confidentiality agreements with the Department of Human Services and with the Oregon Health Authority permitting the ombudsman to have access to electronic records of the department and the authority that are necessary to carry out the duties of the ombudsman. The agreement must ensure that records obtained by the ombudsman from the department or the authority that are confidential, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure are not further disclosed, except as permitted by state and federal law.

(4) Entry and investigation authorized by this section shall be done in a manner that does not disrupt significantly the providing of nursing, residential or other personal care or treatment to residents.

(5) The ombudsman or the designee must show identification to the person in charge of the facility. The resident shall have the right to refuse to communicate with the ombudsman or the designee. The refusal shall be made directly to the ombudsman or the designee and not through an intermediary.

(6) The resident shall have the right to participate in planning any course of action to be taken on behalf of the resident by the ombudsman or the designee. [Formerly 441.117; 2017 c.441 §14; 2017 c.679 §40]