71-6019.

Access to residents; when permitted.

Any employee, representative, or agent of the department, the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, a law enforcement agency, or the local county attorney shall be permitted access at any hour to any resident of any nursing home. Friends and relatives of a resident shall have access during normal visiting and business hours of the facility. Representatives of community legal services programs, volunteers, and members of community organizations shall have access, after making arrangements with proper personnel of the home, during regular visiting and business hours if the purpose of such access is to:

(1) Visit, talk with, and make personal, social, and legal services available to all residents;

(2) Inform residents of their rights and entitlements and their corresponding obligations under federal and state laws by means of educational materials and discussions in groups and with individual residents;

(3) Assist residents in asserting their legal rights regarding claims for public assistance, medical assistance, and social security benefits, as well as in all other matters in which residents are aggrieved. Assistance may include counseling and litigation; or

(4) Engage in other methods of asserting, advising, and representing residents so as to extend to them full enjoyment of their rights.