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• Making referrals to other agencies and organizations
whose services may be of benefit to residents
An Ombudsman works with
facilities by:
• Performing in-service training to educate facility staff
on topics related to the care of residents
• Assisting the facility staff in explaining to residents
and family members their responsibilities to the
facility and to the other residents
CONTACT INFORMATION:
SARCOA Long-Term Care Ombudsman
1075 S. Brannon Stand Road
Dothan, AL 36305
334-793-6843 or 800-239-3507
State Ombudsman
Alabama Department of Senior Services
770 Washington Ave., Suite 570
Montgomery, AL 36130-1851
877-425-2243
Medicare Quality Assurance
Alabama Quality Assurance
Foundation (AQAF)
AQAF is a non-profit company that contracts with
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
to serve as Alabama’s Medicare Quality Improvement
Organization (QIO). As Alabama’s QIO, AQAF works
in partnership with health care professionals and
organizations, government, business and consumers to
improve the quality of health care for Alabama’s more
than 815,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
AQAF collaborates with those health care providers to
examine their practices and improve their systems of
providing care. AQAF provides free education based
on proven best practices to help ensure that care is
safe, effective, timely, patient-centered, efficient and
equitable.
AQAF protects the right of each Alabama Medicare
beneficiary to receive quality health care that meets
medically acceptable standards, is medically necessary,
and is delivered in the most appropriate setting.
Every Medicare beneficiary in Alabama has the right
to file a complaint about the quality of medical care
that he or she receives. You may call AQAF directly
at 1-800-366-1486. Please leave your name, Medicare
number and call back information in your message.
This toll-free line is available 24 hours a day, seven days
a week, including holidays. As a contractor with the
CMS, AQAF follows federal regulations and guidelines.
It obtains the beneficiary’s medical records, determines
whether services met medically acceptable standards,
were medically necessary, and were delivered in the
most appropriate setting. When a quality problem
is identified, AQAF delivers education and feedback
to the health care providers to improve the quality of
services they provide.
If you have any questions about your rights as a
Medicare beneficiary, want to request an appeal for
discharges from a hospital, skilled nursing facility,
hospice, home health care agency, or a comprehensive
outpatient rehabilitation facility, or you want more
information about AQAF’s work as Alabama’s Medicare
QIO, you can call AQAF’s toll free number, 1-800-
366-1486 or e-mail them at askaqaf@aqaf.com. For
more information visit their website at www.aqaf.com.
Long-Term Care Resident
Complaints
If you have a loved one who lives in an assisted living
facility or nursing home and you have concerns about
his or her care or treatment you may file a complaint
with the following organizations.
1. SARCOA’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman can be
reached at 334-793-6843 or 1-800-239-3507. The
Ombudsman will thoroughly investigate, mediate
and attempt to resolve all complaints received.
Ombudsman complaints are kept confidential.
To contact an Ombudsman outside of the seven
Wiregrass counties, call 1-800-AGELINE. The state
Ombudsman can be contacted at 1-877-425-2243.
2. Alabama Department of Public Health, Health
Care Division may be reached at 1-800-356-9596.
Contact if you believe a resident is being abused or
neglected at a facility by a member of the facility staff.
3. Department of Human Resources (DHR) may
be contacted in the county that the resident lives.
Report concerns to DHR if the person responsible
for the abuse or neglect is a family member or person
aside from facility staff.
link
/www.aqaf.com
/www.sarcoa.org