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Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
“Ensuring the rights, dignity, and well-being of individuals living in long-term care today and tomorrow.”
The Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes, adult family homes, and assisted living facilities. Our purpose is to protect and promote the Resident Rights guaranteed these residents under federal and state law and regulations.
We are trained to receive complaints and resolve problems in situations involving quality of care, use of restraints, transfer and discharge, abuse and other aspects of resident dignity and rights.
LTCOP Bill Status & Upcoming Events
CLICK HERE to view the Bill Status Report provided by our Lobbyist, Melanie Smith for more information.
Events this week: TBD
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor | Position | Priority |
| SHB 1390 | Community protection program | Repealing the community protection program. | S Rules 2 | Goodman | Support | Low |
| SHB 2152 (SB 5900) | Cannabis/health facilities | Permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients in specified health care facilities. | S Ways & Means | Kloba | ||
| ESHB 2242 (SB 5967) | Preventive health services | Preserving access to preventive services by clarifying state authority and definitions. | S Passed 3rd | Bronoske | Support | Low |
| ESHB 2319 | DD RHC facilities renaming | Renaming certain state residential facilities for persons with developmental disabilities. | S Rules 2 | Farivar | Support | Low |
| SHB 2350 | DD RHC federal compliance | Increasing transparency regarding residential habilitation center compliance with certain federal requirements. | S Rules 2 | Farivar | Support | Low |
| SHB 2355 (SSB 6053) | Domestic workers | Establishing labor protections for domestic workers. | S Passed 3rd | Thomas | Support | Low |
| 2SHB 2384 | Continuing care retirement | Increasing regulatory oversight of continuing care retirement communities. | S Rules 2 | Macri | Support | Low |
| SHB 2505 (SSB 6036) | Adult family home licensure | Exempting certain former foster care providers from adult family home licensure. | S Rules 2 | Eslick | Neutral | Monitoring |
| ESSB 5837 | Guardianship, etc. | Concerning guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective arrangements. | H Rules R | Pedersen | Support | Medium |
| E2SSB 6070 | Recovery of missing persons | Supporting the recovery of missing persons. | H Rules R | Dhingra | Support | Low |
New Regulations Regarding Community Based Settings and the Discharge of Medicaid Residents
Beginning January 1, 2026, assisted living facilities, adult family homes, and enhanced services facilities must notify the State LTC Ombuds of transfers and discharges of Medicaid recipients under new state regulations. The new WAC requirements can be found at WAC 388-78A-2661 (assisted living facilities); WAC 388-76-10617 (adult family homes); WAC 388-107-0281 (enhanced services facilities).
Click Here for a Frequency Asked Questions resource created by the State LTCOP Office to support you in implementing the new requirements.
Please include your facility’s address (on the cover sheet or on the notice) so that we can identify the right resident in the right facility. Please complete all the fields on the DSHS Transfer/Discharge form, and please print legibly.
If you or your team members have any questions about the FAQ, please feel free to email at ltcop@mschelps.org or contact the State LTCOP office by phone at 1.800.562.6028.
Other helpful resources for these new requirements are RCS, your provider member association or your legal counsel.
Legal Counsel for Long-Term Care
Office of Civil Legal Aid
The new legal services program for Medicaid residents who are facing discharge or eviction from a community based care setting. (888) 437-0017
Resources
Facility DSHS/Ombudsman Poster
WAC 388-97-0300
A posting of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all relevant state client advocacy groups such as the state survey and certification agency, the state licensure office, the state ombuds program, the protection and advocacy network, and the medicaid fraud control unit
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