REPORT TITLE:
Long term care ombudsman


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds to establish a long term care volunteer
ombudsman program.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.549        
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO ESTABLISH A LONG-TERM CARE VOLUNTEER
   OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the long-term care
 
 2 ombudsman program is a federally mandated program which is funded
 
 3 through the Older Americans Act of 1965.  The program is charged
 
 4 with the responsibility of serving as an advocate for residents
 
 5 living in licensed nursing facilities and adult residential care
 
 6 homes, especially those who may be unable or afraid to speak for
 
 7 themselves.
 
 8      Situated within the executive office on aging, Hawaii's
 
 9 program requires the ombudsman to visit all forty-four nursing
 
10 homes and five hundred thirty-seven adult residential care homes
 
11 on six islands.  There are approximately six thousand three
 
12 hundred beds in these facilities currently under the long-term
 
13 care ombudsman program's purview.  The program is currently
 
14 staffed by two full-time program specialists.
 
15      The long-term care ombudsman program's primary function is
 
16 to respond to complaints and requests for information or
 
17 assistance.  Outreach to residents in these facilities and homes
 
18 is an essential component of the program since the residents
 
19 served are usually frail and dependent with physical, mental, or
 

 
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 1 emotional needs.  Often, their dependency on others for care
 
 2 presents the potential for reluctance in speaking out when they
 
 3 are the recipients of inappropriate care.  Outreach to these
 
 4 residents is particularly crucial in order to assure them that
 
 5 they do not have external supports should they need them.
 
 6      It was recently pointed out at the Governor's Conference on
 
 7 Adult Residential Care Homes that the long-term care options in
 
 8 Hawaii are expanding.  There is an increase in assisted living
 
 9 and expanded care facilities.  While there is much supervision
 
10 and family involvement in nursing homes, in a care home the only
 
11 supervision is from the care home operator.  Current regulations
 
12 require the department of health to notify the care home operator
 
13 in advance before surveying the home for renewal of its license.
 
14 Presently, the long-term care ombudsman is the only one allowed
 
15 to enter a care home without an appointment.
 
16      Some of these homes are now receiving special waivers to
 
17 accept residents at a higher acuity level who are also less
 
18 likely to be able to speak for themselves.  In order to assure
 
19 proper services for these elderly residents, the long-term care
 
20 ombudsman program's justification will increase.
 
21      As the State's elderly population continues to grow, the two
 
22 full-time staff members of the program will be unable to provide
 
23 the necessary outreach services.  Other states have developed a
 

 
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 1 successful volunteer component to their long-term care ombudsman
 
 2 programs.  The American Association of Retired Persons has
 
 3 developed a training manual specifically for the long-term care
 
 4 ombudsman program which many states have used as a starting point
 
 5 for their long-term care volunteer ombudsman program.  According
 
 6 to the Legal Counsel for the Elderly's 1995 Report, "the presence
 
 7 and work of the volunteers make a major contribution towards the
 
 8 enhancement of the quality of life for residents of long-term
 
 9 care facilities."
 
10      The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to establish
 
11 a long-term care volunteer ombudsman program to ensure that
 
12 quality outreach services are provided to the increasing number
 
13 of elderly people residing in long-term care facilities in the
 
14 State.
 
15      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
16 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $90,721 or so much
 
17 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000 to
 
18 establish a long-term care voluntary ombudsman program to include
 
19 but not be limited to a volunteer coordinator, clerical staff,
 
20 ground and air travel, training, and miscellaneous volunteer
 
21 reimbursements.
 
22      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
23 department of health for the purpose of this Act.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________