The Florida Senate

400.0069  District long-term care ombudsman councils; duties; membership.--

(1)  There shall be at least one long-term care ombudsman council in each of the planning and service areas of the Department of Elderly Affairs, which shall function under the direction of the state ombudsman council.

(2)  The duties of the district ombudsman council are:

(a)  To serve as a third-party mechanism for protecting the health, safety, welfare, and civil and human rights of residents of a long-term care facility.

(b)  To discover, investigate, and determine the existence of abuse or neglect in any long-term care facility and to use the procedures provided for in ss. 415.101-415.113 when applicable. Investigations may consist, in part, of one or more onsite administrative inspections.

(c)  To elicit, receive, investigate, respond to, and resolve complaints made by, or on behalf of, long-term care facility residents.

(d)  To review and, if necessary, to comment on, for their effect on the rights of long-term care facility residents, all existing or proposed rules, regulations, and other governmental policies relating to long-term care facilities.

(e)  To review personal property and money accounts of Medicaid residents pursuant to an investigation to obtain information regarding a specific complaint or problem.

(f)  To represent the interests of residents before government agencies and to seek administrative, legal, and other remedies to protect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the residents.

(g)  To carry out other activities that the ombudsman determines to be appropriate.

(3)  In order to carry out the duties specified in subsection (2), the district ombudsman council is authorized, pursuant to ss. 400.19(1) and 400.434, to enter any long-term care facility without notice or first obtaining a warrant, subject to the provisions of s. 400.0073(5).

(4)  Each district ombudsman council shall be composed of no less than 15 members and no more than 30 members from the district, to include the following: one medical or osteopathic physician whose practice includes or has included a substantial number of geriatric patients and who may have limited practice in a long-term care facility; one registered nurse who has geriatric experience, if possible; one licensed pharmacist; one registered dietitian; at least six nursing home residents or representative consumer advocates for nursing home residents; at least three residents of assisted living facilities or adult family-care homes or three representative consumer advocates for long-term care facility residents; one attorney; and one professional social worker. In no case shall the medical director of a long-term care facility or an employee of the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Children and Family Services, or the Department of Elderly Affairs serve as a member or as an ex officio member of a council. Each member of the council shall certify that neither the council member nor any member of the council member's immediate family has any conflict of interest pursuant to subsection (10). District ombudsman councils are encouraged to recruit council members who are 60 years of age or older.

(5)  All members shall be appointed to serve 3-year terms. Upon expiration of a term and in case of any other vacancy, the council shall appoint a replacement by majority vote of the council, subject to the approval of the Governor. If no action is taken by the Governor to approve or disapprove the replacement of a member within 30 days after the council has notified the Governor of the appointment, the appointment of the replacement shall be considered approved. The term of any member missing three consecutive regular meetings without cause shall be declared vacant.

(6)  The district ombudsman council shall elect a chair for a term of 1 year from members who have served at least 1 year. The chair shall select a vice chair from among the members of the council. The vice chair shall preside over the council in the absence of the chair.

(7)  The district ombudsman council shall meet upon the call of the chair, at least once a month or more frequently as needed to handle emergency situations.

(8)  A member of a district ombudsman council shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses both within and outside the county of residence in accordance with the provisions of s. 112.061.

(9)  The district ombudsman councils are authorized to call upon appropriate agencies of state government for such professional assistance as may be needed in the discharge of their duties. All state agencies shall cooperate with the district ombudsman councils in providing requested information and agency representatives at council meetings. The Department of Children and Family Services shall continue to provide space and in-kind administrative support for each district ombudsman council staff within available resources until the Legislature appropriates funds for office space and administrative support.

(10)  No officer, employee, or representative of a district long-term care ombudsman council, nor any member of the immediate family of such officer, employee, or representative, may have a conflict of interest. The Department of Elderly Affairs, in consultation with the ombudsman, shall adopt rules to identify and remove conflicts of interest.

History.--s. 27, ch. 75-233; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 136, ch. 77-104; s. 8, ch. 77-401; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 4, ch. 78-323; s. 2, ch. 78-393; ss. 6, 12, ch. 80-198; ss. 2, 3, 5, ch. 81-184; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 1, 4, ch. 82-46; ss. 15, 19, ch. 82-148; ss. 35, 79, 80, 83, 84, ch. 83-181; s. 39, ch. 86-220; s. 2, ch. 87-396; s. 7, ch. 89-294; s. 3, ch. 91-115; s. 27, ch. 92-33; ss. 6, 29, 30, 31, ch. 93-177; s. 49, ch. 93-217; s. 760, ch. 95-148; s. 5, ch. 95-210; s. 114, ch. 99-8.

Note.--Former s. 400.307.