Agenda - 10-03-2017 -11-a - Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - Appointments

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21 notification has been sent to them requesting a nomination, this appointment may be made without nominations. If the county commissioners fail to fill a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled by the Assistant Secretary for Aging, Department of Health and Human Services Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman no sooner than 45 days after the commissioners have been notified of the appointment or vacancy. (f) Officers. — The committee shall elect from its members a chair, to serve a one-year term. (g) Minimum Qualifications for Appointment. —Each member must be a resident of the county which the committee serves. No person or immediate family member of a person with a financial interest in a home served by the committee, or employee or governing board member of a home served by the committee, or immediate family member of a resident in a home served by the committee may be a member of that committee. Any county commissioner who is appointed to the committee shall be deemed to be serving on the committee in an ex officio capacity. Members of the committee shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties. The names of the committee members and the date of expiration of their terms shall be filed with the Division of Aging, Department of Health and Human Services.Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. (h) Training. Training, Certification, and Designation. — The Division of Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall develop training materials, which shall be distributed to each committee member.training requirements for certification and designation in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 1324.13(c)(2). Each committee member must receive certification training as specified by the Division of Aging State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Policies and Procedures and be designated as representatives of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program prior to exercising any power under G.S. 131D-32. The Division of Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program shall provide the committees with information, guidelines, training, and consultation to direct them in the performance of their duties. (i) Any written communication made by a member of adult care home advisory committee within the course and scope of the member's duties, as specified in G.S. 131D-32, shall be privileged to the extent provided in this subsection. All communication shall be considered the property of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and subject to the Office's disclosure policies. This privilege shall be a defense in a cause of action for libel if the member was acting in good faith and the statements and communications do not amount to intentional wrongdoing. To the extent that any adult care home advisory committee or any member is covered by liability insurance, that committee or member shall be deemed to have waived the qualified immunity herein to the extent of indemnification by insurance." SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 131E-128 reads as rewritten: "§ 131E-128. Nursing home advisory committees. (a) It is the purpose of the General Assembly that community advisory es committee members function as representatives of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and through their designation work to maintain the intent of this Part the Nursing Home Resident's Bill of Rights within the nursing homes in this State, including nursing homes operated by hospitals licensed under Article 5 of G.S. Chapter 131E. It is the further purpose of the General Assembly that the committees promote community involvement and cooperation with nursing homes and an integration of these homes into a system of care for the elderly. (b) (1) A community advisory committee shall be established in each county which has a nursing home, including a nursing home operated by a hospital licensed under Article 5 of G.S. Chapter 131E, shall serve all the homes in House Bill 248 Session Law 2017-103 Page 3