Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Speight, Chaparro and Assemblyman Danielsen
SYNOPSIS
Expands scope of Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman; appropriates $1 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, amending various parts of the statutory law, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1977, c.239 (C.52:27G-1) is amended to read as follows:
1. The Legislature hereby finds that [in recognition of the different health and health related problems experienced by the various age groups in the general population,] numerous health care facilities have been constructed and placed in operation to provide specialized health and health related services to [particular such groups] individuals needing long-term care; that in providing such services [to the elderly] it is essential to recognize that [while the members of this age group possess the same] civil and human rights [as members of every other age group, such rights may be far more difficult for certain of the elderly to secure since] must be fiercely protected for such persons who may be [afflicted with] experiencing certain physical and mental [infirmities] ailments, [deprived of] with limited access to the comfort and counsel of family and friends, and [forced to exist with] sometimes possessing minimum economic resources, all of which [may preclude them from defending and acting in] create barriers to the opportunity to advocate their own [best] interests; and, that to the degree that certain of [the elderly] these individuals may experience difficulty in securing their civil and human rights as [patients,] residents [and clients] of the health care facilities created to serve their specialized needs [and problems], it is the obligation of the State to take appropriate action through the creation of an adequate legal framework by which those difficulties may be eliminated.
The Legislature, therefore, declares that it is the public policy of this State to secure for [elderly patients,] residents [and clients] of long-term health care facilities serving their specialized needs [and problems], the same civil and human rights guaranteed to all citizens; and that to this end there should be established as an agency of the State Government the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman [for the Institutionalized Elderly], to receive, investigate and resolve complaints concerning certain long-term health care facilities [serving the elderly], and to initiate actions to secure, preserve and promote the health, safety and welfare, and the civil and human rights, of the [elderly patients,] residents [and clients] of such facilities.
(cf: P.L.1977, c.239, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.1977, c.239 (C.52:27G-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in this act, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
a. "Abuse" means the willful infliction of physical pain, injury, or mental anguish; unreasonable confinement; or the willful deprivation of services which are necessary to maintain a person's physical and mental health. However, no person shall be deemed to be abused for the sole reason he is being furnished nonmedical remedial treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone, in accordance with a recognized religious method of healing, in lieu of medical treatment;
b. An "act" of any facility or government agency shall be deemed to include any failure or refusal to act by such facility or government agency;
c. "Administrator" means any person who is charged with the general administration or supervision of a facility, whether or not such person has an ownership interest in such facility, and whether or not such person's functions and duties are shared with one or more other persons;
d. "Caretaker" means a person employed by a facility to provide care or services to [an elderly person] a long-term care resident, and includes, but is not limited to, the administrator of a facility;
e. "Exploitation" means the act or process of using a person or his resources for another person's profit or advantage without legal entitlement to do so;
f. "Facility" means any facility or institution, whether public or private, offering health or health related services for [the institutionalized elderly] long-term care residents, and which is subject to regulation, visitation, inspection, or supervision by any government agency. Facilities include, but are not limited to, nursing homes, skilled nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, extended care facilities, convalescent homes, rehabilitation centers, residential health care facilities, dementia care homes, special hospitals, veterans' hospitals, chronic disease hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, mental hospitals, developmental centers or facilities, continuing care retirement communities, including independent living sections thereof, social day care facilities [for the elderly] , and medical day care centers;
g. "Government agency" means any department, division, office, bureau, board, commission, authority, or any other agency or instrumentality created by the State 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 facilities, or which provides services to [patients,] residents[, or clients] of facilities;
h. "Guardian" means any person with the legal right to manage the financial affairs and protect the rights of any [patient,] long-term care resident[, or client] of a facility, who has been declared an incapacitated person by a court of competent jurisdiction;
i. Long-term care resident[,] [elderly or elderly person] means any person [60 years of age or older,] who is a [patient,] resident[, or client] of any facility;
j. "Office" means the Office of the State Long-Term Care