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,n <br /> ,,,, STATE OF LOUISIANA <br /> 8 of Novi`--. DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE <br /> s <br /> ,�4�� u f9� <br /> �, LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS <br /> P.O.BOX 4368 <br /> ,I BATON ROUGE, LA 70821 <br /> "P , ,� (225)219-5600 <br /> " FAX (225)381-7271 <br /> 1-800-842-6630 <br /> www.ethics.la.gov <br /> December 21, 2016 <br /> Jacqueline Whitmore, LCSW <br /> 3844 Pensacola Dr. <br /> Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70814 <br /> Re: Ethics Board Docket No. 2016-1113 <br /> Dear Ms. Whitmore: <br /> The Louisiana Board of Ethics, at its December 16, 2016 Board meeting, considered your request <br /> for an advisory opinion regarding whether there is a conflict of interest between your position as a <br /> social worker with the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) Preadmission Screening and Resident <br /> Review (PASRR) Program and working for Band of Angels, a private business assisting nursing <br /> home residents and their families. OBH receives referrals for nursing home placement from the <br /> Office of Aging. They receive the initial information and review other records to see if an individual <br /> has ever been treated for a mental illness. The individual must have received some psychiatric <br /> treatment within the last two years and it must affect specific areas such as interpersonal functioning, <br /> concentration, persistence and pace, etc. OBH can authorize permanent placement or temporary <br /> placement with a review in three to six months. OBH also reviews cases for individuals who are <br /> already in a nursing home who either has had a change in their mental or physical health or they were <br /> only approved for a short period of time.You stated that in your position with OBH,you review the <br /> evaluation of the managed care company records from the Office of Aging and any hospital or <br /> nursing home records that are received to make a clinical decision about whether a person needs <br /> nursing home placement and the length of the placement. <br /> Your job responsibilities with the Band of Angels would be to make sure the needs of a nursing <br /> home resident are being met.This would include visits to the facility,shopping for the resident,and <br /> acting as a liaison between the family and nursing home. You stated that you would not provide <br /> services to individuals and their families who were placed in a nursing home by OBH. <br /> The Board concluded, and instructed me to inform you, that the Louisiana Code of Governmental <br /> Ethics would not prohibit you from being employed by the Band of Angels in the capacity provided. <br /> La. R.S. 42:1111C(1)(a)provides that no public servant shall receive any thing of economic value <br /> for any service for which the subject matter is devoted substantially to the responsibilities,programs, <br /> or operations of the agency of the public servant and in which the public servant has participated. <br /> Since you would not be performing services for individuals placed in a nursing facility by OBH,you <br /> would not be prohibited from being employed in the stated capacity with the Band of Angels. <br /> This advisory opinion is based solely on the facts as set forth herein. Changes to the facts presented <br /> may result in a different application of the provisions of the Code of Ethics. The Board issues no <br /> AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />