Unofficial Copy 2004 Regular Session

J3 4lr2393

  CF 4lr1427

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By: Delegates Murray, Dumais, Kaiser, King, Lee, Madaleno, Montgomery,

Petzold, and Taylor Taylor, Hurson, Hammen, Benson, Boteler, Boutin,

Bromwell, Costa, Donoghue, Elliott, Goldwater, Hubbard, Kach,

Mandel, McDonough, Morhaim, Nathan-Pulliam, Oaks, Pendergrass,

Rosenberg, Rudolph, Smigiel, V. Turner, and Weldon

Introduced and read first time: February 2, 2004

Assigned to: Health and Government Operations

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Committee Report: Favorable with amendments

House action: Adopted

Read second time: March 2, 2004

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CHAPTER_______

1 AN ACT concerning

2 Health Facilities - Nursing Homes - Family Council

3 FOR the purpose of providing for the composition of a family council for a nursing

4 home; prohibiting a family council from being created or led by certain persons;

5 authorizing a family council to be created or led by certain persons under certain

6 circumstances; requiring a nursing home to give certain persons certain

7 information about a family council in the nursing home; requiring the nursing

8 home to respond in writing to certain communications from the family council

9 within a certain time frame; requiring a nursing home to create and to maintain

10 certain correspondence files; providing for the contents of certain files; requiring

11 records in regulatory files to be unedited; requiring records in public files to

12 delete certain information; providing the times for the review of public files by

13 certain persons; requiring a nursing home to promptly comply with a request by

14 a licensing authority to review certain files; requiring the Secretary of Aging to

15 adopt certain regulations; defining a certain term; and generally relating to a

16 family council in nursing homes.

17 BY renumbering

18 Article - Health - General

19 Section 19-1415

20 to be Section 19-1416

21 Annotated Code of Maryland

22 (2000 Replacement Volume and 2003 Supplement)

1 BY adding to

2 Article - Health - General

3 Section 19-1415

4 Annotated Code of Maryland

5 (2000 Replacement Volume and 2003 Supplement)

6 BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments,

7 Article 70B - Department of Aging

8 Section 5(c) and (d)(1)

9 Annotated Code of Maryland

10 (2003 Replacement Volume)

11 BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,

12 Article 70B - Department of Aging

13 Section 5(d)(2)

14 Annotated Code of Maryland

15 (2003 Replacement Volume)

16 SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF

17 MARYLAND, That Section(s) 19-1415 of Article - Health - General of the Annotated

18 Code of Maryland be renumbered to be Section(s) 19-1416.

19 SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland

20 read as follows:

21 Article - Health - General

22 19-1415.

23 (A) IN THIS SECTION, "FAMILY COUNCIL" MEANS A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS

24 WHO WORK TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF

25 LIFE OF RESIDENTS OF A NURSING HOME.

26 (B) (1) A FAMILY COUNCIL FOR A NURSING HOME MAY CONSIST OF THE

27 FOLLOWING MEMBERS:

28 (I) RESIDENTS OF A NURSING HOME;

29 (II) (I) MEMBERS OF A RESIDENT'S FAMILY; OR

30 (II) AN INDIVIDUAL APPOINTED BY THE RESIDENT, OR IF THE

31 RESIDENT IS INCAPABLE OF APPOINTING AN INDIVIDUAL, AN INDIVIDUAL

32 APPOINTED BY THE RESIDENT'S FAMILY.

33 (III) FRIENDS OF A RESIDENT; OR

34 (IV) REPRESENTATIVES OF TWO OR MORE RESIDENTS.

1 (2) (I) SUBJECT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS PARAGRAPH, A

2 FAMILY COUNCIL MAY NOT BE CREATED OR LED BY THE OWNER, OPERATOR, OR

3 STAFF OF A NURSING HOME.

4 (II) IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FAMILY

5 COUNCIL, THE OWNER, OPERATOR, OR STAFF OF A NURSING HOME MAY LEAD THE

6 FAMILY COUNCIL FOR NO LONGER THAN 6 MONTHS AT WHICH TIME THE FAMILY

7 COUNCIL SHALL BE LED BY A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY COUNCIL.

8 (C) A NURSING HOME SHALL GIVE EACH NEW OR PROSPECTIVE RESIDENT

9 THE FOLLOWING WRITTEN INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAMILY COUNCIL:

10 (1) THE NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER OF A CURRENT MEMBER

11 OF THE FAMILY COUNCIL;

12 (2) A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF THE

13 FAMILY COUNCIL; AND

14 (3) INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW THE RESIDENT OR PROSPECTIVE RESIDENT

15 MAY REVIEW THE PUBLIC FILES DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (E) OF THIS SECTION;

16 AND

17 (4) THE NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER OF THE STATE OR LOCAL

18 OMBUDSMAN.

19 (D) A NURSING HOME SHALL RESPOND IN WRITING TO ANY WRITTEN

20 GRIEVANCE OR OTHER WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FROM THE FAMILY COUNCIL

21 WITHIN 10 14 CALENDAR DAYS AFTER RECEIVING A COMMUNICATION.

22 (E) (1) A NURSING HOME SHALL CREATE AND MAINTAIN A PUBLIC

23 CORRESPONDENCE FILE AND A REGULATORY CORRESPONDENCE FILE FOR

24 COMMUNICATIONS WITH A FAMILY COUNCIL.

25 (2) THE CORRESPONDENCE FILES SHALL INCLUDE A COPY OF EACH

26 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION AND RESPONSE DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (D) OF THIS

27 SECTION.

28 (3) (I) THE RECORDS IN THE REGULATORY FILE SHALL BE UNEDITED.

29 (II) THE RECORDS IN THE PUBLIC FILE SHALL DELETE ANY

30 INFORMATION THAT IDENTIFIES AN INDIVIDUAL RESIDENT.

31 (4) THE PUBLIC FILE MAY BE REVIEWED BY A RESIDENT, PROSPECTIVE

32 RESIDENT, OR THE REPRESENTATIVE OF EITHER A RESIDENT OR PROSPECTIVE

33 RESIDENT DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS AND AT ANY OTHER TIME THE

34 NURSING HOME AGREES TO MAKE THE PUBLIC FILE AVAILABLE.

35 (5) THE NURSING HOME SHALL PROMPTLY COMPLY WITH A REQUEST

36 BY A LICENSING AUTHORITY TO REVIEW THE RECORDS IN EITHER THE PUBLIC OR

37 REGULATORY FILES.

1 Article 70B - Department of Aging

2 5.

3 (c) There is established in the Department a Maryland Long-Term Care

4 Ombudsman Program. The Secretary shall designate a Maryland Long-Term Care

5 Ombudsman.

6 (d) (1) The Secretary may delegate the Secretary's authority under

7 subsection (a) of this section to the Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman and to

8 the director of a local office on aging in accordance with a local long-term care

9 ombudsman program established pursuant to regulations promulgated by the

10 Secretary.

11 (2) The regulations shall provide for:

12 (i) Minimum training requirements for all program staff and

13 volunteers;

14 (ii) Cooperation with the Departments of Health and Mental

15 Hygiene and Human Resources;

16 (iii) Annual review of all ombudsman activities by the Department;

17 (iv) Complaint review, investigation, and resolution procedures

18 including provisions which assure the confidentiality of complaints and the right of

19 privacy of any complainant or resident of a related institution;

20 (v) Maintenance by the local ombudsman of a recordkeeping or

21 information system which assures the confidentiality of records or files and the right

22 of privacy of any complainant or resident of a related institution; [and]

23 (vi) Access, review, and copying of medical records to the extent

24 authorized by § 4-305(b)(3) of the Health - General Article when the local

25 ombudsman is the person in interest or as otherwise provided by law; AND

26 (VII) A PROCESS FOR ASSISTING INDIVIDUALS WITH ORGANIZING

27 AND OPERATING A FAMILY COUNCIL IN A NURSING HOME.

28 SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect

29 October 1, 2004.