Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SYSTEM
Title 175 - HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AND SERVICES LICENSURE
Chapter 7 - HEALTH CLINICS
Section 175-7-002 - DEFINITIONS
Abuse means any knowing, intentional or negligent act or omission on the part of a person which results in physical, sexual, verbal or mental abuse, unreasonable confinement, cruel punishment, exploitation, or denial of essential care, treatment and services to a patient.
Activities of daily living (See definition of "Care.")
Adjoining means located to allow access without having to enter a general corridor area used or observed by other facility occupants.
Administrator means the operating officer for a health clinic and may include such titles as administrator, chief executive officer, manager, superintendent, director or similar designation.
Ambulatory surgical center means a facility:
1. Where surgical services are provide to persons not requiring hospitalization who are admitted to and discharged from such facility within the same working day and are not permitted to stay overnight at such facility;
2. Which meets all applicable requirements for licensure as a health clinic under the Health Care Facility Licensure Act; and
3. Which has qualified for a written agreement with the Health Care Financing Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services or its successor to participate in Medicare as an ambulatory surgical center as defined in 42 CFR 416.1 to 416.200 or which receives other third-party reimbursement for such services.
Ambulatory surgical center does not include an office or clinic used solely by a practitioner or group of practitioners in the practice of medicine, dentistry, or podiatry.
Applicant means the individual, government, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other form of business organization who applies for a license.
Biological means any virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin or analogous product applicable to the prevention, treatment or cure of disease or injuries of humans.
Care means the exercise of concern or responsibility for the comfort, welfare, and habilitation of persons, including a minimum amount of supervision and assistance with or the provision of personal care, activities of daily living, health maintenance activities, or other supportive services. For purposes of this chapter:
1. Activities of daily living means transfer, ambulation, exercise, toileting, eating, self-administered medication, and similar activities;
2. Health maintenance activities means noncomplex interventions which can safely be performed according to exact direction, which do not require alteration of the standard procedure, and for which the results and patient responses are predictable; and
3. Personal care means bathing, hair care, nail care, shaving, dressing, oral care, and similar activities.
Complaint means an expression of a concern or dissatisfaction.
Completed application means the application that contains all the information specified in 175 NAC 7-003 and includes all required attachments and documentation and the licensure fee.
Department means the Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensure.
Designee means a person who is authorized by law or the patient to act on his or her behalf, for example a parent of a minor child, a legal guardian, a conservator, and an attorney in fact named in a durable power of attorney for health care.
Device means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including any component, part, or accessory, which is prescribed by a medical practitioner and dispensed by a pharmacist or other person authorized by law to do so.
Direction and monitoring means, for the purpose of medication administration, the acceptance of responsibility for observing and taking appropriate action regarding any desired effects, side effects, interactions and contraindications associated with the medication. Direction and monitoring can be done by a:
1. Competent individual for himself or herself;
2 Caretaker; or
3. Licensed health care professional.
Director means the Director of Regulation and Licensure.
Drug means substances as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-1,142.
Existing facility means a licensed health care facility or a facility whose construction or remodeling plans were approved by the Department prior to the effective date of 175 NAC 7.
Exploitation means the taking of property of a patient by means of undue influence, breach of a fiduciary relationship, deception, or extortion or by any unlawful means.
Facility means a health clinic as defined.
Five rights means getting the right drug to the right recipient in the right dosage by the right route at the right time.
Food code means the Nebraska Food Code as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2,244.01 and as published by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, except for compliance and enforcement provisions.
Food service means the storage, preparation, serving, and disposition of food intended for consumption in a health clinic. Food service does not include provision of prepackaged snacks or nutritional supplements.
Foreign when applied to corporations means all those created by authority other than that of the State of Nebraska.
Grievance means a written expression of dissatisfaction which may or may not be the result of an unresolved complaint.
Health care facility means an ambulatory surgical center, an assisted-living facility, a center or group home for the developmentally disabled, a critical access hospital, a general acute hospital, a health clinic, a hospital, an intermediate care facility, an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, a long-term care hospital, a mental health center, a nursing facility, a pharmacy, a psychiatric or mental hospital, a public health clinic, a rehabilitation hospital, a skilled nursing facility or a substance abuse treatment center.
Health care practitioner means any individual credentialed under the Uniform Licensing Law or other laws of the State of Nebraska.
Health care practitioner facility means the residence, office, or clinic of a practitioner or group of practitioners credentialed under the Uniform Licensing law or any distinct part of the residence, office, or clinic.
Health care service means an adult day service, a home health agency, a hospice or hospice service, or a respite care service.
Health maintenance activities (See definition of "Care.")
Health clinic means a facility where advice, counseling, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, care, or services relating to the preservation or maintenance of health are provided on an outpatient basis for a period of less than 24 consecutive hours to persons not residing or confined at such facility. Health clinic includes, but is not limited to, an ambulatory surgical center or a public health clinic.
Health clinic does not include:
1. A health care practitioner facility
a. Unless such facility is an ambulatory surgical center;
b. Unless ten or more abortions, as defined in subdivision (1) of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-326, are performed during any one calendar week at such facility; or
c. Unless hemodialysis or labor and delivery services are provided at such facility; or
2. A facility which provides only routine health screenings, health education, or immunizations.
Hemodialysis means the mechanical process of removing unwanted wastes and fluid from the blood to prevent toxic buildup in patients whose kidneys no longer perform this function. This is done by circulating a patient's blood through a semipermeable membrane, or dialyzer. Circulation occurs outside the patient's body.
Licensed health care professional means an individual for whom administration of medication is included in the scope of practice.
Licensee means the individual, government, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other form of business organization legally responsible for the operation of the facility and to whom the Department has issued a license.
Medical practitioner means any licensed physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, chiropractor, physician assistant, certified registered nurse anesthetist, advanced practice registered nurse, or certified nurse midwife.
Medication means any prescription or nonprescription drug intended for treatment or prevention of disease or to affect body function in humans.
Medication administration includes, but is not limited to:
1. Providing medications for another person according to the five rights;
2. Recording medication provision; and
3. Observing, monitoring, reporting and otherwise taking appropriate actions regarding desired effects, side effects, interactions, and contraindications associated with the medication.
Medication aide means an individual who is listed on the medication aide registry operated by the Department as provided in 172 NAC 95 and 96.
Medication provision means the component of the administration of medication that includes giving or applying a dose of a medication to an individual and includes helping an individual in giving or applying such medication to himself or herself.
Mental abuse means humiliation, harassment, threats of punishment, deprivation or other actions causing mental anguish.
NAC means Nebraska Administrative Code.
Neglect means a failure to provide care, treatment or services necessary to avoid physical harm or mental anguish of a patient.
New construction means a facility or a distinct part of a facility in which care and treatment is to be provided and which is enlarged, remodeled or altered in any fashion or is built from the ground up on or after the effective date of 175 NAC 7.
New facility means a facility or a distinct part of a facility in which care and treatment is to be provided and which is not currently licensed as a health care facility. New facility also includes those facilities, which were previously licensed for care and treatment in another licensure category which now intend to seek licensure in a different category.
Patient means a person who receives care and treatment as recommended by a medical practitioner at a health clinic.
Personal care (See definition of "Care.")
Physical abuse means hitting, slapping, pinching, kicking, or other actions causing injury to the body.
Physician means any person authorized to practice medicine in this state as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-102 to 71-110.
Premises means a facility, the facility's grounds and each building or grounds on contiguous property used for administering and operating a facility.
PRN means an administration scheme in which a medication is not routine, is taken as needed and requires assessment for need and effectiveness.
Public health clinic means the department, and county, city-county, or multicounty health department, or any private not-for-profit family planning clinic licensed as a health clinic.
Qualified inspector means a professional architect or engineer licensed to practice in Nebraska, an official or employee of a local jurisdiction authorized by that jurisdiction to make inspections or particular building equipment or systems, or an individual certified by a nationally recognized organization to make such inspections.
Routine health screenings means the collection of health data through the administration of a screening tool designed for a specific health problem, evaluation, and comparison of results to referral criteria, and referral to appropriate sources of care, if indicated.
Schematic plans means a diagram of the facility or service which describes the number and location of beds; the location of care and treatment rooms, Life Safety Code construction and occupancy classifications locations, fire compartments, and Fire Marshal approved points of safety.
Screening tool means a simple interview or testing procedure to collect basic information on health status.
Sexual abuse means sexual harassment, sexual coercion, or sexual assault.
Treatment means a therapy, modality, product, device, or other intervention used to maintain well being or to diagnose, assess, alleviate, or prevent a disability, injury, illness, disease, or other similar condition.
Unlicensed direct care staff means personnel who are not licensed or certified under the Uniform Licensing Law or other state laws governing the practice of health care and whose primary responsibility is to manage, supervise, and/or provide direct care to patients. Unlicensed direct care staff includes nursing assistants, medication aides, and other personnel with this responsibility and with job titles designated by the facility.
Verbal abuse means the use of oral, written, or gestured language including disparaging and derogatory terms to patients or within their hearing distance.
