Relates to annual reporting requirements of the state long-term care ombudsman; requires additional information to be contained in the state ombudsman's annual reports to the governor, state legislature, etc.; requires an additional annual report to be submitted to the attorney general on instances of abuse, neglect and exploitation, for review and possible enforcement action.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8617--A
Cal. No. 977
IN SENATE
March 22, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Aging -- reported favora-
bly from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered
to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place
in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to annual reporting require-
ments of the state long-term care ombudsman
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section 218 of the elder law, as amended
2 by chapter 259 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
3 14. Annual report. On or before March thirty-first, two thousand five,
4 and annually thereafter, the state ombudsman shall submit to the gover-
5 nor, commissioner of the federal administration on aging, speaker of the
6 assembly, temporary president of the senate, director of the state
7 office for the aging, commissioner of the department of health, and the
8 commissioner of children and family services a report and make such
9 report available to the public:
10 (a) describing the activities carried out by the office of the state
11 long-term care ombudsman during the prior calendar year;
12 (b) containing and analyzing data relating to complaints and condi-
13 tions in long-term care facilities and to residents for the purpose of
14 identifying and resolving significant problems, including an examination
15 of any recurring complaints to determine if there are systemic issues in
16 such facilities;
17 (c) evaluating the problems experienced by, and the complaints made by
18 or on behalf of, residents;
19 (d) containing recommendations for appropriate state legislation,
20 rules and regulations and other action based on data collected pursuant
21 to this section, concerns raised by residents and families of residents,
22 and observations made when visiting long-term care facilities, to
23 improve the quality of the care and life of the residents, protecting
24 the health, safety and welfare and rights of the residents and resolving
25 resident complaints and identified problems or barriers;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14320-07-2
S. 8617--A 2
1 (e) containing an analysis of the success of the long-term care
2 ombudsman program, including success in providing services to residents;
3 (f) describing barriers that prevent the optimal operation of the
4 ombudsman program;
5 (g) describing any organizational conflicts of interest in the ombuds-
6 man program that have been identified and the steps taken to remove or
7 remedy such conflicts; [and]
8 (h) containing all complaints received by the state ombudsman relating
9 to long-term care facilities including but not limited to complaints
10 that suggest the possible occurrence of physical abuse, mistreatment,
11 neglect or Medicaid fraud, listed by type of complaint, facility name
12 and by region;
13 (i) containing the number of visits to each long-term care facility,
14 listed by facility name and by region, and names of long-term care
15 facilities that did not receive any visits in the prior year; and
16 (j) any other matters as the state ombudsman, in consultation with the
17 director of the state office for the aging, determines to be appropri-
18 ate.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
