903 Confidentiality | LTCO-5100-MANUAL

Confidentiality – because the purpose of a grievance is to resolve a specific issue between an aggrieved party and another individual, no confidentiality protection exists for the individuals who are involved with respect to those investigating the matter of the grievance. Release of information regarding the situation will be limited to only those directly involved in the grievance and the investigation of the grievance. If the grievance concerns a resident, all rules related to confidentiality as stated in section 500 of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Policy Manual apply and the SLTCO must be consulted. For individuals involved in the situation, confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible in conducting a thorough investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the results have been communicated and the grievance has been resolved, the records will be filed confidentially. Records relating to each grievance are the property of the SLTCO and may only be released in accordance with the record release policies of the SLTCO as stated in section 502 under the Confidentiality heading of the Policy Manual.