43-7-63 - Duties of community ombudsman. - Mississippi Statutes

§ 43-7-63. Duties of community ombudsman.
 

The duties of the community ombudsman shall be: 
 

(a) The investigation of complaints filed by residents, sponsors, organizations or long-term care facilities on behalf of residents of long-term care facilities relating to the health, safety, welfare and rights of a resident. 

(b) The pursuit of efforts to resolve complaints informally. 

(c) The monitoring of the development and implementation of federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies relating to long-term care. 

(d) The training of volunteers: 

(i) Training of volunteers shall be approved by the State Long-term Care Facilities Ombudsman as appropriate to the level of responsibility of the volunteer, and shall be carried out in accordance with the training manual developed by the Office of the State Long-term Care Facilities Ombudsman; 

(ii) Volunteers who have met the training and certification requirements appropriate to their level of responsibility shall be given identification cards which shall be presented to employees of a long-term care facility upon request; 

(iii) No volunteer shall perform any of the duties enumerated by Sections 43-7-51 through 43-7-79 prior to completion of the training program, except as a supervised portion of that training program. 

(e) The providing of public forums, scheduling of public hearings, sponsoring of conferences and workshops, and conducting other meetings to gather, disseminate and discuss information relative to the needs and problems of the residents in long-term care facilities. 

(f) The encouragement and assistance in the development and operation of referral services which can provide current, valid and reliable information on long-term care facilities and alternatives to institutionalization for persons in need of these services. 

(g) The submission of reports as required by the Office of the State Long-term Care Facilities Ombudsman. 

(h) The development of an ongoing program of publicity concerning the purposes and mode of operation of the long-term care facilities ombudsman program through contact with the media and civic organizations. 
 

Sources: Laws,  1988, ch. 592, § 7, eff from and after July 1, 1988.