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<section article="ghg" article_name="Health - General" number="19-1416" title_number="19" title_name="Health Care Facilities" subtitle_number="14" subtitle_name="Nursing Homes">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “family council” means a group of individuals who work together to protect the rights of and improve the quality of life of residents of a nursing home.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A family council for a nursing home may consist of the following members:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Members of a resident’s family; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>An individual appointed by the resident, or if the resident is incapable of appointing an individual, an individual appointed by the resident’s family.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <level label="i">
        <text>Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a family council may be created by the owner, operator, or staff of a nursing home.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, in order to facilitate the development of a family council, the owner, operator, or staff of a nursing home may lead the family council for no longer than 6 months at which time the family council shall be led by a member of the family council.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>On the written request of a family council, the nursing home may assist the family council in the administrative functions of operating the family council in a mutually agreed upon manner.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>A nursing home shall give each new or prospective resident the following written information about the family council:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The name, address, and phone number of a current member of the family council;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A brief description of the purpose and function of the family council;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Instructions on how the resident or prospective resident may review the public files described in subsection (e) of this section; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>The name, address, and phone number of the State or local ombudsman.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>A nursing home shall respond in writing to any written grievance or other written communication from the family council within 14 calendar days after receiving a communication.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A nursing home shall create and maintain a public correspondence file and a regulatory correspondence file for communications with a family council.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The correspondence files shall include a copy of each written communication and response described in subsection (d) of this section.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <level label="i">
        <text>The records in the regulatory file shall be unedited.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The records in the public file shall delete any information that identifies an individual resident.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>The public file may be reviewed by a resident, prospective resident, or the representative of either a resident or prospective resident during normal business hours and at any other time the nursing home agrees to make the public file available.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>The nursing home shall promptly comply with a request by a licensing authority to review the records in either the public or regulatory files.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
