Watchdogs of elder care

As the state long-term care ombudsman, I need to correct Tuesday’s guest column about House Bill 1494, a bill that would reform elder-care referral agencies [“Don’t hamper search for elder care,” Opinion, April 19].

The LTC Ombudsman Program, as the watchdog for residents in long-term care facilities, strongly supports this bill and the important protections that it provides. The claim that the bill will not let adult children help parents find elder-care options is completely inaccurate.

This bill does not prohibit a concerned family member from gathering information and discussing housing options with an agency to help a vulnerable elder. It only requires a signed authorization form before the agency can give confidential, identifiable health-care information to a facility — consistent with long-standing privacy laws.

It also responds to the problem of some agencies broadcasting the elder’s names to multiple facilities, which then bombard families and elders with unsolicited phone calls.

This bill adopts other reforms such as requiring a criminal-history check of the agency’s employees and requiring the referral agency to gather basic information about the elder’s needs and the potential housing provider’s capabilities before making a referral.

It should be signed as soon as possible by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

— Louise Ryan, Washington state long-term care ombudsman, Seattle