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On May 8th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its federal visitation guidance to align with the ending of the Public Health Emergency. UPDATED!View CMS Current Guidance (May 8, 2023)
Relevant Statutes and Regulations
Notes on Accessing Information at Links: Some links, require additional steps after clicking on them. Federal statutes (USC): Once you follow the link, you must click on individual section (eg, § 3058f. Definitions) to read the text.
State statutes (NJSA through the Rutgers Law Library): You may need to scroll down to the specific section (eg, 52:27g-1) and click on each individual section to read the text.
State regulations (NJAC through Lexis): You may first be asked to click a box to confirm "I'm not a robot." Once you click the box, it will take you the text of the regulation. To access different sections of the regulations, there is a tab marked "Table of Contents" to the left of the text. Clicking on that will provide access to other sections.
State and federal laws, which include both statutes and regulations from state and the federal governments, direct the work of the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman (NJLTCO). Below are links to those laws. Since laws can change, we check these resources to make sure they are up to date.
Federal Statute
Federal statutes are found in the US Code (USC). The federal Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) laws are part of the Older Americans Act, which was first passed in 1965. The primary sections of the Older Americans Act that direct the LTCO can be found at 42 USC 3058f-3058h.
Federal Regulations
Federal regulations are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Regulations are written by government agencies to carry out the laws passed by the legislature. The federal regulations directing LTCO's work can be found at 45 CFR 1324. Other federal regulations that guide NJLTCO's work include those about residents in long-term care facilities, such as residents' rights (42 CFR 483.10), their right to be free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation (42 CFR 483.12), and the regulations governing their quality of life (42 CFR 483.24) and quality of care (42 CFR 483.25).
State Statutes
New Jersey statutes are found in New Jersey Statutes Annotated (NJSA). The statute directing the NJLTCO can be found at NJSA 52:27G-1 to 52:27G-16.
Places Where NJLTCO Has Authority
An important element of advocating on behalf of people living in long-term care facilities is understanding their legally protected state rights. NJLTCO has authority in a variety of different places, including nursing homes, Laws are found throughout statutes (NJSA) and regulations (found in the New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC)).
Below are statutes and regulations governing places where LTCO has jurisdiction, with the sections specific to resident rights highlighted.
Bill of Rights for LGBTQI and HIV+ Residents of Long-Term Care: NJSA 26:2H-12.101-12.107, (applies to nursing home, assisted living residence, comprehensive personal care home, residential health care facility, or dementia care home)
Official Site of The State of New Jersey