Text: S05135                            Text: S05137
Text: S05100 - S05199                   Text: S Index
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Senate Amendment 5136

Amendment Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Amend Senate File 244 as follows:
  1  2    #1.  By striking everything after the enacting
  1  3 clause and inserting the following:
  1  4    "Section 1.  Section 231.42, Code 1995, is amended
  1  5 by adding the following new subsection before
  1  6 unnumbered paragraph 2:
  1  7    NEW SUBSECTION.  8.  a.  Establish a local long-
  1  8 term care resident's advocate program in a designated
  1  9 entity in each of the area agency on aging planning
  1 10 and service areas throughout the state.  The long-term
  1 11 care resident's advocate, in consultation with the
  1 12 department, shall establish a procedure for
  1 13 certification of local resident's advocates.  The
  1 14 certification procedure shall require, at a minimum,
  1 15 that the local long-term care resident's advocate has
  1 16 demonstrated the capability to carry out the
  1 17 responsibilities of the office, be free of conflicts
  1 18 of interest, and meet any additional requirements as
  1 19 specified by the state resident's advocate.
  1 20    b.  The state resident's advocate, the designated
  1 21 entities in which local long-term care resident's
  1 22 advocate programs are established, and the local
  1 23 resident's advocates are not liable for any action
  1 24 undertaken by a local resident's advocate in the
  1 25 performance of duty, if the action is undertaken and
  1 26 carried out in good faith.
  1 27    c.  The local resident's advocates shall assist the
  1 28 state resident's advocate by doing, at a minimum, all
  1 29 of the following:
  1 30    (1)  Providing services to protect the health,
  1 31 safety, welfare, and rights of residents in long-term
  1 32 care facilities.
  1 33    (2)  Ensuring that the residents of long-term care
  1 34 facilities in the service area of the local long-term
  1 35 care resident's advocate program have regular, timely
  1 36 access to the local resident's advocate and are
  1 37 provided timely responses to complaints and requests
  1 38 for assistance.
  1 39    (3)  Identifying, investigating, and resolving
  1 40 complaints and grievances that may adversely affect
  1 41 the health, safety, welfare, or rights of residents in
  1 42 long-term care facilities.
  1 43    (4)  Representing the interests of residents of
  1 44 long-term care facilities before government agencies
  1 45 and seeking administrative, legal, and other remedies
  1 46 to protect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of
  1 47 the residents of long-term care facilities.
  1 48    (5)  Providing information to other agencies and to
  1 49 the public about the problems of residents in long-
  1 50 term care facilities and facilitating the ability of
  2  1 the public to comment on laws, regulations, and
  2  2 policies which affect the residents in long-term care
  2  3 facilities.
  2  4    (6)  Reviewing, and, if necessary, commenting on
  2  5 any existing and proposed laws, rules, and other
  2  6 government policies and actions that pertain to the
  2  7 rights and well-being of residents in long-term care
  2  8 facilities.
  2  9    (7)  Developing and assisting care review
  2 10 committees in the performance of their duties through
  2 11 recruitment, training, and publicity.
  2 12    (8)  Supporting the development of resident and
  2 13 family councils.
  2 14    (9)  Assisting in the development of consumer
  2 15 organizations to participate in the local long-term
  2 16 care resident's advocate program.
  2 17    (10)  Carrying out other activities that the state
  2 18 resident's advocate determines to be appropriate.
  2 19    d.  The department of elder affairs shall
  2 20 establish, in consultation with the state resident's
  2 21 advocate, policies and procedures for monitoring local
  2 22 long-term care resident's advocate programs, the
  2 23 entities in which the programs are established, and
  2 24 the local resident's advocates.
  2 25    Sec. 2.  Section 231.42, unnumbered paragraph 2,
  2 26 Code 1995, is amended by striking the paragraph and
  2 27 inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  2 28    The state resident's advocate shall have access to
  2 29 long-term care facilities, private access to
  2 30 residents, access to residents' personal, social, and
  2 31 medical records for the purpose of reviewing and upon
  2 32 request copying the records, and access to other
  2 33 records maintained by the facilities or governmental
  2 34 agencies only as necessary and pertaining only to the
  2 35 person on whose behalf a complaint is being
  2 36 investigated.  A local resident's advocate shall have
  2 37 comparable access to facilities, residents, and
  2 38 records as provided in this paragraph if the local
  2 39 resident's advocate obtains consent from the resident
  2 40 or from the resident's legal representative.  If the
  2 41 resident is unable to provide consent and the
  2 42 resident's legal representative refuses to consent to
  2 43 the access, access shall be granted if the local
  2 44 resident's advocate has reasonable cause to believe
  2 45 that the legal representative is not acting in the
  2 46 resident's best interests and if the local resident's
  2 47 advocate obtains approval from the state long-term
  2 48 care resident's advocate.
  2 49    Sec. 3.  Section 231.43, subsection 3, Code 1995,
  2 50 is amended to read as follows:
  3  1    3.  Procedures to enable the state long-term care
  3  2 resident's advocate and local long-term care
  3  3 resident's advocates to elicit, receive, and process
  3  4 complaints regarding administrative actions which may
  3  5 adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or
  3  6 rights of elderly residents in long-term care
  3  7 facilities.
  3  8    Sec. 4.  LOCAL LONG-TERM CARE RESIDENT'S ADVOCATE
  3  9 PROGRAM – PILOT PROJECT – APPROPRIATION.  There is
  3 10 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
  3 11 department of elder affairs for the fiscal year
  3 12 beginning July 1, 1996, and ending June 30, 1997, the
  3 13 following amount or so much thereof as is necessary,
  3 14 to be used for the purpose designated:
  3 15    For the establishment of a pilot program beginning
  3 16 July 1, 1996, and ending June 30, 1998, to create the
  3 17 position of local long-term care resident's advocate
  3 18 in each of three agency on aging planning and service
  3 19 areas in the state to determine the efficacy of
  3 20 establishing local resident's advocates in all area
  3 21 agency on aging planning and service area locations:  
  3 22 .................................................. $    240,000
  3 23    Notwithstanding section 8.33, the moneys
  3 24 appropriated in this section that remain unencumbered
  3 25 and unobligated at the end of any fiscal year shall
  3 26 not revert to the general fund but shall remain
  3 27 available for expenditure during subsequent fiscal
  3 28 years for the purposes for which originally
  3 29 appropriated.
  3 30    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  Sections 1 through 3 of
  3 31 this Act take effect July 1, 1998."
  3 32    #2.  Title page, line 1, by striking the word
  3 33 "area" and inserting the following:  "local".
  3 34    #3.  Title page, line 2, by inserting after the
  3 35 word "aging" the following:  "planning and service
  3 36 areas".  
  3 37 
  3 38 
  3 39                              
  3 40 MERLIN E. BARTZ
  3 41 SF 244.201 76
  3 42 pf/jj

Text: S05135                            Text: S05137
Text: S05100 - S05199                   Text: S Index
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