Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 16 > Article 5L - Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

• board: means a board of health serving one or more counties or one or more municipalities or a combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• 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
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: means a person lawfully invested with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of another person and managing the property and rights of another person who for some peculiarity of status or defect of age, understanding or self control is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs, to include committees or other references under the code. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• ombudsman volunteer: means any uncompensated individual who performs the duties enumerated under section eight of this article: Provided, That the individual has received appropriate certification as set forth in section nine of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Pecuniary interest: means holding a financial interest in or deriving financial benefit from the provision of long-term care, but does not include employment in the long-term care industry or in the home health care industry. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Personal assistance: means personal services, including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding or getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of the resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• 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
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.