Tulsa Senior AdvisorHow do I file a complaint about a Tulsa assisted living center or nursing home?
Call OSDH's long-term care complaint hotline at 1-800-747-8419, which takes complaints about nursing facilities, residential care homes, assisted living centers and adult day care centers.
For incidents in nursing facilities the hotline menu directs you to press 3; for abuse by a certified nurse aide, press 2. Complaint investigations show up later as survey documents in the facility's public file.
Who do I call about suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an older adult in Oklahoma?
Call Oklahoma Human Services' statewide abuse and neglect hotline at 1-800-522-3511, or report online at OKHotline.org; if someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first.
Adult Protective Services investigates abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults whether they live at home or in a facility. You do not need proof to report, only a reasonable concern.
What does the Oklahoma Long-Term Care Ombudsman do?
The ombudsman program advocates for residents of nursing homes, assisted living centers and similar care homes, taking complaints from residents and families and working to resolve them inside the facility; in Oklahoma it is now a division of the Attorney General's Office.
The statewide line is 1-800-211-2116. Local ombudsmen, many of them trained volunteers, are supported by the Area Agencies on Aging; for Tulsa, Creek and Osage counties that is INCOG (ombudsman supervisor 918-579-9423). Ombudsman help is free and confidential.
Which should I call first?
Call 911 for danger, APS for abuse or exploitation, the OSDH hotline when you want the state to investigate a facility's compliance, and the ombudsman when you want an advocate to work the problem out with the facility on the resident's behalf.
Families often use two at once: the ombudsman to resolve a discharge or care-plan dispute, and an OSDH complaint so the issue is on the record.
Can a facility retaliate against a resident who complains?
Residents and families have the right to raise concerns without retaliation, and the ombudsman program exists precisely to help residents who fear consequences; a resident can ask the ombudsman to keep their identity confidential.
Keep notes with dates and names whenever you raise a problem. They help the ombudsman, OSDH or Adult Protective Services if the issue continues.
At a glance
| Call | For | |
|---|---|---|
| OSDH hotline 1-800-747-8419 | Facility rule violations | An advocate to negotiate for you |
| APS 1-800-522-3511 | Abuse, neglect, exploitation | Billing disputes |
| Ombudsman 1-800-211-2116 | Resident advocacy and disputes | Emergencies (call 911) |
Sources include the Oklahoma Administrative Code (chapters 310:663, 310:680, 310:673, 310:675 and 310:605), OSDH, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Oklahoma Human Services, the Oklahoma Attorney General, CareScout, CMS and the VA, as cited above; see our editorial standards.
