Comment on FR Doc # 2011-25894

As mandated by the Older Americans Act, the mission of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is to seek resolution of problems and advocate for the rights of residents of long-term care facilities with the goal of enhancing the quality of life and care of residents. Standard 4E addresses referrals from the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The Older Americans Act strictly governs confidentiality of ombudsman records and it is important to acknowledge the limitation in the standard. Additionally, the standards focus heavily on the relationship between the Medicaid agency and the Unit. Regulatory agencies that license and/or certify providers should also be included specifically. NASOP's requested language for Standard 4E follows: "The Unit takes steps to ensure that the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Survey Agency, and other officials and agencies refer to the Unit suspected patient abuse and neglect cases, consistent with the laws, particularly those regarding consent and confidentiality, that govern their offices. The Unit provides timely information to the State Ombudsman and other referring agencies when the agencies request information on the status of MFCU investigations." In order to enhance the quality of referrals and partnerships, cross-training is an important standard. NASOP requests the following language for Standard 13E follows: "Through cross-training or by other means, Unit staff receive and provide training on roles and responsibilities of the Unit, the State Medicaid agency, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Survey Agency, and law enforcement partners." NASOP believes that MOUs are a best practice to outline the communication protocol for Units and referring agencies and would support a recommendation from the OIG to MFCUs to enter into such agreements. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on proposed standards. Beverley Laubert Federal Policy Committee Chair NASOP