SB 309 — AN ACT ALIGNING THE OFFICE OF THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN WITH THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT.

General Assembly   RaisedSubstitute Bill No.

309 February Session, 2018   LCO*_____SB00309AGE___031518____* No.AN ACT ALIGNING THE OFFICE OF THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN WITH THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT.

1766   *01766_______AGE* Referred to Committee on AGING   Introduced by:

  (AGE)   AN ACT ALIGNING THE OFFICE OF THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN WITH THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT.

In the event the State Ombudsman or [an assistant] a regional ombudsman is unable to fulfill the duties of the office, the [secretary] commissioner shall appoint an acting State Ombudsman and the State Ombudsman shall appoint an acting assistant[assistant] regional ombudsman.

Section 17a-412 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) Any physician or surgeon licensed under the provisions of chapter 370, any resident physician or intern in any hospital in this state, whether or not so licensed, and any registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical examiner, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, social worker, clergyman, police officer, pharmacist, physical therapist, long-term care facility administrator, nurse's aide or orderly in a long-term care facility, any person paid for caring for a patient in a long-term care facility, any staff person employed by a long-term care facility and any person who is a sexual assault counselor or a domestic violence counselor as defined in section 52-146k who has reasonable cause to suspect or believe that a resident in a long-term care facility has been abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned, or is in a condition that is the result of such abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment, shall, not later than seventy-two hours after such suspicion or belief arose, report such information or cause a report to be made in any reasonable manner to the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services pursuant to chapter 319dd.

Any person required to report under the provision of this section who fails to make such report within the prescribed time period shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, except that, if such person intentionally fails to make such report within the prescribed time period, such person shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor for the first offense and a class A misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.

(b) Such report shall contain the name and address of the long-term care facility, the name of the involved resident, information regarding the nature and extent of the abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment and any other information which the reporter believes might be helpful in an investigation of the case and for the protection of the resident.

(c) Any other person having reasonable cause to believe that a resident in a long-term care facility is being, or has been, abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned, or any person who wishes to file any other complaint regarding a long-term care facility, shall report such information in accordance with subsection (b) of this section in any reasonable manner to the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services who shall inform the resident of the services of the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

(d) Such report or complaint shall not be deemed a public record, and shall not be subject to the provisions of section 1-210.

Information derived from such reports or complaints for which reasonable grounds are determined to exist after investigation as provided for in section 17a-413, as amended by this act, including the identity of the long-term care facility, the number of complaints received, the number of complaints substantiated and the types of complaints, may be disclosed by the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services, except that in no case shall the name of the resident or the complainant be revealed, unless such person specifically requests such disclosure or unless a judicial proceeding results from such report or complaint.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or section 17b-452, not later than twenty-four hours, or as soon as possible, after receiving a report pursuant to subsection (a) of this section concerning a resident of a long-term care facility, the commissioner shall notify such resident's guardian or conservator, if any, or legally liable relative or other responsible party.

Such notification shall not be required when such guardian, conservator, legally liable relative or other responsible party is suspected of perpetrating the abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment that is the subject of the report.

The commissioner shall obtain the contact information for such guardian, conservator, legally liable relative or other responsible party from the long-term care facility.

(e) Any person who makes a report or complaint pursuant to this section or who testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding arising from the report shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability on account of such report or complaint or testimony, except for liability for perjury, unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose.

(f) Any person who is discharged or in any manner discriminated or retaliated against for making, in good faith, a report or complaint pursuant to this section shall be entitled to all remedies available under law including, but not limited to, remedies available under sections 19a-532 and 31-51m, as applicable.

(g) The person filing a report or complaint pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be notified, in general terms, of the findings of any investigation conducted by the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services not later than forty-five days after completion of the investigation, provided:

(1) The person who made such report was legally mandated to make such report, (2) the information is not otherwise privileged or confidential under state or federal law, (3) the names of the witnesses or other persons interviewed are kept confidential, and (4) the names of the person or persons suspected to be responsible for the abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment are not disclosed unless such person or persons have been arrested as a result of the investigation.

(h) The Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall maintain a registry of the reports received, the investigations made, the findings and the actions recommended and taken.

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Section 17a-413 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

Upon receipt of a report or complaint as provided in section 17a-412, as amended by this act, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall determine immediately whether there are reasonable grounds for an investigation.

If it is determined that reasonable grounds do not exist for an investigation, the complainant or the person making the report shall be notified of this determination not later than five working days after the receipt of such complaint or report.

If such reasonable grounds are found, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall investigate such report or complaint not later than ten working days thereafter.

The Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall complete an investigation and make a report of the findings not later than fifteen working days after the receipt of the complaint or report.

If the investigation indicates that there is a possible violation of section 19a-533, 19a-535 or 19a-537, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall refer the report or complaint together with a report of any investigation the commissioner has undertaken to the Department of Public Health for action as appropriate.

If the investigation indicates that there is a possible violation of the provisions of the Public Health Code with respect to licensing requirements, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall refer the report or complaint, together with a report of the investigation, to the Commissioner of Public Health for appropriate action.

If no violation of the Public Health Code is indicated, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall take whatever action said commissioner deems necessary, and shall notify the complainant or the person making the report, of the action taken not later than fifteen working days after receipt of the complaint or report.

If the investigation indicates that a person has abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned a resident in a long-term care facility, the Commissioner of [Social Services] Rehabilitation Services shall refer such information in writing to the Chief State's Attorney or the Chief State's Attorney's designee who shall conduct such further investigation, if any, as deemed necessary and shall determine whether criminal proceedings should be initiated against such person in accordance with applicable state law.

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6 from passage 17a-41217a-414 Sec.