The Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC) serves the general public. Established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1976, OHFC is part of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). OHFC carries out MDH’s responsibilities as a lead investigative agency under the Minnesota vulnerable adults act, as well as the reporting of maltreatment of minors act. OHFC can also investigate complaints and reports regarding resident/patient/client rights, quality of care, and compliance with facility licensing requirements.

Complaints, questions, or concerns must relate to licensed facilities:

Hospitals
Nursing homes
Assisted living
Boarding care homes
Supervised living facilities
Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IID)
Home care providers

The OHFC functions are carried out by various parts of the Health Regulation Division (HRD) at MDH. Each facility type has different laws and standards that apply.

For hospitals, nursing homes, ICF/IIDs, and some home care providers, these include federal regulations. For those providers, the complaint will be evaluated under those standards first, and then in some cases, also evaluated under the Minnesota maltreatment laws.
For assisted living facilities, boarding care home, supervised living facilities, and home care providers which are not federally certified, a state investigation will be conducted simultaneously under the licensing standards and under any applicable maltreatment law.