Law seeks to boost info for nursing home residents - Rome Sentinel
ALBANY — State Sen. Rachel May, D-53, Syracuse, has announced a bill she sponsored to improve access to information in nursing homes has been signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The law mandates translation and provision of the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights into the six most common non-English languages and mandates prominent display of contact information for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in nursing homes.
“Older New Yorkers and their families need to have access to information on many topics in order to make the best decisions for themselves and their loved ones,” said May, who is the chair of the Senate Aging Committee.
“This bill will make critical information on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, as well as the Residents’ Bill of Rights, more widely and easily accessible. I am proud to have sponsored this bill and am very happy to have the governor sign it into law. New York State must continue to do all it can to better support our growing aging population.”
New York State’s Long-term Care Ombudsman Program was established more than four decades ago as part of the federal Older Americans Act. Its purpose is to advocate “for residents by investigating and resolving complaints made by or on behalf of residents; promoting the development of resident and family councils; and informing government agencies, providers, and the general public about issues and concerns impacting residents of long-term care facilities.”
The effectiveness of the program, May said, however, relies on an assumption that residents and families know of the program and its services and on the existence of effective two-way channels of communication between ombudsman program staff and volunteers and the Department of Health, to which complaints are funneled for investigation and resolution.
Significant evidence and testimonials from family members and volunteers indicate that neither of these assumptions are being met, May said.
“This bill calls for specific measures to better inform families and nursing home residents of the existence of the program by requiring that residents have better access to ombudsman contact information,” May’s announcement said, adding that “currently, such information is most commonly posted in a single common area, such as an elevator lobby, and possibly included in a packet of information for families at the time of admission. Nevertheless, time and again, family members reported being unaware they had access to an ombudsman to address issues or concerns relating to a loved one’s care.”
According to the state Office for the Aging website, https://aging.ny.gov/long-term-care-ombudsman-program , the program offers the “Ombudsman Program is an effective advocate and resource for older adults and people with disabilities who live in nursing homes, assisted living, and other licensed adult care homes....”
Ombudsman are designed to:
Advocate on behalf of residents and assure rights are not violated;
Mediate for residents and families regarding disputes or concerns with long-term care facilities;
Educate and provide information and consultation to residents, families, facility staff, and community; and
Refer residents and families to the New York State Department of Health or other appropriate agencies if they cannot help resolve issues.
According to the state website, the local ombudsman coordinator is Katie Montague of RCIL in Utica. She can be emailed at Email: [email protected].
source: https://romesentinel.com/stories/law-seeks-to-boost-info-for-nursing-home-residents,126735
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