(1) The Legislature finds and declares that the citizens of this state should be assisted in asserting their civil and human rights as patients, residents, and clients of long-term care facilities created to serve their specialized needs and problems; and that for the health, safety, and welfare of these citizens, the state should take appropriate action through an adequate legal framework to address their difficulties.
(2) The purpose of this part is to establish within the division the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for the citizens of this state and identify duties and responsibilities of that program and of the ombudsman, in order to address problems relating to long-term care and to fulfill federal requirements.