West Virginia Code 16-5L-14 – Cooperation among government departments or agencies
(a) The state or regional long-term care ombudsman shall have access to publicly disclosable records of any state government department, agency, or office reasonably necessary to any investigation carried out pursuant to section ten of this article. The regional long-term care ombudsman shall be notified of and be allowed to observe any survey conducted by a government agency affecting the health, safety, welfare or rights of residents of a long-term facility.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5L-14
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Government agency: means any department, division, office, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, or any other agency or instrumentality created by the state or political subdivision thereof or to which the state is a party or by any county or municipality which is responsible for the regulation, visitation, inspection, or supervision of long-term care facilities or which provides services to residents or long-term care facilities. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
- Long-term care facility: means any nursing home, personal care home, or residential board and care home as defined in section two, article five-c of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
- Regional long-term care ombudsman: means any paid staff of a designated regional long-term care ombudsman program who has obtained appropriate certification from the state commission on aging and meets the qualifications set forth in section seven of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
- Resident: means an individual living in a nursing home, personal care home, residential board and care home, or any long-term care facility as defined in subsection (b) of this section, or who has lived in such a setting, or who has made application to live in such a setting: Provided, That nothing in this article may be construed to give a long-term care ombudsman the right to obtain the waiting list of a long-term care facility. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State long-term care ombudsman: means an individual who meets the qualifications of section five of this article and who is employed by the state commission on aging to implement the state long-term care ombudsman program as set forth in this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
(b) The state long-term care ombudsman shall develop referral procedures to refer any complaint to any appropriate state government department, agency or office. The department or agency shall acknowledge receipt and disposition within thirty calendar days on any complaint referred to it by a state or regional long-term care ombudsman.
(c) When abuse, neglect or exploitation of a resident of a long-term care facility is suspected, the state or regional long-term care ombudsman shall make a referral to the office of adult protective services of the Department of Health and Human Resources and to the office of health facility licensure and certification of the Department of Health and Human Resources. The state or regional long-term care ombudsman shall coordinate with the office of adult protective services and the office of health facility licensure and certification on any investigation of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation undertaken by those offices under the provisions of this subsection.
(d) Any state government department, agency, or office which responds to a complaint referred to it by a state or regional long-term care ombudsman shall forward to the long-term care ombudsman copies of publicly disclosable inspection reports and plans of correction, and notices of any citations and sanctions levied against the long-term care facility identified in the complaint.
(e) The state or regional long-term care ombudsman shall seek to establish coordination with programs which provide legal services for the elderly, including, but not limited to, programs funded by the federal legal services corporation or under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.