(a) The regional long-term care ombudsman programs shall each create and maintain a volunteer program to effect the purposes of this article, pursuant to rules promulgated by the state long-term care ombudsman and the state commission on aging.
(b) A long-term care ombudsman volunteer shall have demonstrated interest in the field of aging and long-term care issues and be able to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
(c) No long-term care ombudsman volunteer nor any member of his or her immediate family shall have, or have had within the two years preceding his or her employment under this section, any pecuniary interest in the provision of long-term care. Nor shall any long-term care ombudsman volunteer perform his or her duties in any specific facility in which an immediate family member of the long-term care ombudsman volunteer is or has been a resident or applicant of that specific facility. For the purposes of this section, the term "immediate family" shall mean the spouse, children, natural mother, natural father, natural brothers or natural sisters of the long-term care ombudsman volunteer.
(d) The long-term care ombudsman volunteer shall perform only those duties assigned by the regional long-term care ombudsman, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Regularly visiting and talking with residents of long-term care facilities, and inspecting all public areas of the facility;