West Virginia Code
Article 5L. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
§16-5L-3. Definitions

As used in this article, unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "Government agency" means any department, division, office, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, or any other agency or instrumentality created by the state or political subdivision thereof or to which the state is a party or by any county or municipality which is responsible for the regulation, visitation, inspection, or supervision of long-term care facilities or which provides services to residents or long-term care facilities;
(b) "Long-term care facility" means any nursing home, personal care home, or residential board and care home as defined in section two, article five-c of this chapter; nursing homes operated by the federal government or the state government; extended care facilities operated in connection with hospitals; and any similar institution, residence or place, or any part or unit thereof, however named, in this state which is advertised, offered, maintained or operated by the ownership or management for consideration, for the express and implied purpose of providing accommodations and care or personal assistance to one or more persons who are ill or otherwise incapacitated or are dependent upon the services of others by reasons of physical or mental impairment and who are not related within the degree of consanguinity of second cousin to the owner or manager of the institution, residence or place;
(c) "Long-term care ombudsman volunteer" or "ombudsman volunteer" means any uncompensated individual who performs the duties enumerated under section eight of this article: Provided, That the individual has received appropriate certification as set forth in section nine of this article;
(d) "Pecuniary interest" means holding a financial interest in or deriving financial benefit from the provision of long-term care, but does not include employment in the long-term care industry or in the home health care industry;
(e) "Personal assistance" means personal services, including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding or getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of the resident;
(f) "Regional long-term care ombudsman" means any paid staff of a designated regional long-term care ombudsman program who has obtained appropriate certification from the state commission on aging and meets the qualifications set forth in section seven of this article;
(g) "Resident" means an individual living in a nursing home, personal care home, residential board and care home, or any long-term care facility as defined in subsection (b) of this section, or who has lived in such a setting, or who has made application to live in such a setting: Provided, That nothing in this article may be construed to give a long-term care ombudsman the right to obtain the waiting list of a long-term care facility;
(h) "State long-term care ombudsman" means an individual who meets the qualifications of section five of this article and who is employed by the state commission on aging to implement the state long-term care ombudsman program as set forth in this article; and
(i) "Guardian" means a person lawfully invested with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of another person and managing the property and rights of another person who for some peculiarity of status or defect of age, understanding or self control is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs, to include committees or other references under the code.

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