The Florida Senate

400.0067  Establishment of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council; duties; membership.--

(1)  There is created within the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council.

(2)  The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall:

(a)  Assist the ombudsman in reaching a consensus among district ombudsman councils on issues of statewide concern.

(b)  Serve as an appellate body in receiving from the district ombudsman councils complaints not resolved at the district level. The state ombudsman council may enter any long-term care facility involved in an appeal, pursuant to the conditions specified in s. 400.0069(3).

(c)  Assist the ombudsman to discover, investigate, and determine the existence of abuse or neglect in any long-term care facility and to develop procedures, in consultation with the Department of Elderly Affairs, relating to such investigations. Investigations may consist, in part, of one or more onsite administrative inspections.

(d)  Assist the ombudsman in eliciting, receiving, responding to, and resolving complaints made by or on behalf of long-term care facility residents and in developing procedures, in consultation with the Department of Elderly Affairs, relating to the receipt and resolution of such complaints.

(e)  Elicit and coordinate state, local, and voluntary organizational assistance for the purpose of improving the care received by residents of a long-term care facility.

(f)  Be authorized to call upon appropriate agencies of state government for such professional assistance as may be needed in the discharge of its duties, including assistance from the adult protective services program of the Department of Children and Family Services.

(g)  Enter into a cooperative agreement with the statewide and district human rights advocacy committees for the purpose of coordinating advocacy services provided to residents of long-term care facilities.

(h)  Prepare an annual report describing the activities carried out by the ombudsman and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council in the year for which the report is prepared. The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall submit the report to the Commissioner of the United States Administration on Aging, the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leaders of the House and Senate, the chairpersons of appropriate House and Senate committees, the Secretaries of Elderly Affairs and Children and Family Services, and the Director of Health Care Administration. The report shall be submitted at least 30 days before the convening of the regular session of the Legislature and shall, at a minimum:

1.  Contain and analyze data collected concerning complaints about and conditions in long-term care facilities.

2.  Evaluate the problems experienced by residents of long-term care facilities.

3.  Contain recommendations for improving the quality of life of the residents and for protecting the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the residents.

4.  Analyze the success of the ombudsman program during the preceding year and identify the barriers that prevent the optimal operation of the program. The report of the program's successes shall also address the relationship between the state long-term care ombudsman program, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Department of Children and Family Services, and an assessment of how successfully the state long-term care ombudsman program has carried out its responsibilities under the Older Americans Act.

5.  Provide policy and regulatory and legislative recommendations to solve identified problems; resolve residents' complaints; improve the quality of care and life of the residents; protect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the residents; and remove the barriers to the optimal operation of the state long-term care ombudsman program.

6.  Contain recommendations from the district ombudsman councils regarding program functions and activities.

7.  Include a report on the activities of the legal advocate and other legal advocates acting on behalf of the district and state councils.

(3)(a)  The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall be composed of a number of members equal to the number of district councils in the state plus three. Each district ombudsman council, including the ombudsman councils for subdistricts 3A and 3B, shall appoint one member and the Governor shall appoint three members to the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council. An individual designated by a district ombudsman council must have been a member of a district ombudsman council for at least 1 year, and shall continue to serve as an active member at the district level. The Governor's appointments shall be made from a list of not fewer than eight nominees, to be selected by the secretary in consultation with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council and submitted to the Governor. If the appointments are not made within 30 days after the Governor receives the list of nominees, the secretary shall, in consultation with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council, appoint three members from the list of nominees submitted to the Governor. At least one member appointed by the Governor must be over 60 years of age.

(b)  All members shall be appointed to serve 3-year terms. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The position of any member missing three consecutive regular meetings without cause shall be declared vacant.

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

(d)  The state ombudsman council shall meet upon the call of the chairperson, at least quarterly or more frequently as needed.

(e)  Members shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.

(4)  Members shall be appointed and serve 3-year terms as provided by this section.

(5)  No officer, employee, or representative of the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman or of the State 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.

(6)  The Department of Elderly Affairs shall make a separate and distinct request for an appropriation for all expenses for the state and district ombudsman councils.

History.--ss. 5, 30, 31, ch. 93-177; s. 759, ch. 95-148; s. 113, ch. 99-8; s. 209, ch. 99-13.