Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) As specified
in this section, the department shall take the following enforcement actions
for violation of RSA 151, He-P 802, or other applicable licensing rules:
(1) Issue a warning;
(2) Impose a fine in accordance with (e)
below;
(3) Deny the application
for a renewal of a license in accordance with (c) and (d) below;
(4) Immediately suspend a license;
or
(5) Revoke the license in
accordance with (c) and (d) below.
(b) At the time of issuing a warning,
imposing a fine, or denying, revoking, or suspending a license, the department
shall send to the applicant or licensee a written notice that sets forth:
(1) The reasons for the proposed action;
(2) The action to be taken by the
department;
(3) If a fine is
imposed, the automatic reduction of the fine by 25% if the fine is paid within
10 days of the date on the written notice from the department and the
deficiency has been corrected, or a POC has been accepted and approved by the
department; and
(4) The right of an
applicant or licensee to a hearing in accordance with
RSA 151:8
or
RSA 541-A:30,
III, as applicable before the enforcement
action becomes final.
(c) The department shall deny an application
or revoke a license if:
(1) An applicant or a
licensee has violated provisions of RSA 151 or He-P 802, which poses a risk of
to harm a patient's health, safety, or well-being;
(2) An applicant or a licensee has failed to
pay a fine imposed by the department;
(3) An applicant or a licensee has had a
check returned to the department for insufficient funds and has not
re-submitted the outstanding fee in the form of cash, money order, or certified
check;
(4) After being notified of
and given an opportunity to supply missing information on an application, an
applicant or licensee fails to submit an application that meets the
requirements of
He-P
802.04; or
(5) An applicant, licensee or any
representative or employee of the applicant or licensee:
a. Provides false or misleading information
to the department;
b. Prevents or
interferes, or fails to cooperate with any inspection or investigation
conducted by the department; or
c.
Fails to provide requested files or documents to the department;
(6) The licensee failed to
implement or continue to implement a POC that has been accepted or imposed by
the department in accordance with
He-P 802.12(c) and (d)
;
(7) The licensee is cited a third time under
RSA 151 or He-P 802 for the same violations within the last 5 inspections;
(8) A licensee, its corporate
officers, or its board members has had a license revoked and submits an
application during the 5-year prohibition period specified in (l) below;
(9) Upon inspection, the
applicant's premises are not in compliance with RSA 151 or He-P 802 and a
waiver has not been granted;
(10)
The department makes a determination that the administrator, licensee, medical
director, or applicant are guilty of one or more of the offenses listed in
He-P
802.05(f) and a waiver has not been
granted;
(11) The applicant or
licensee employs an administrator who does not meet all of the qualifications
listed in
He-P 802.16(b)
and a waiver has not been granted;
or
(12) The applicant,
administrator, licensee, or medical director has had a license revoked by any
division of the department 5 years prior to the filing of the
application.
(d) The
department shall impose fines as follows:
(1)
For a failure to cease providing unlicensed services after being notified by
the department of the need for a license, in violation of
RSA
151:2 or
RSA
151:2-e, the fine shall be $2,000.00 for an
applicant or unlicensed provider;
(2) For a failure to cease operations after a
denial of a license or after receipt of an order to cease and desist
immediately, in violation of
RSA
151:2,
RSA
151:2-e, and
RSA
541-A:30, or continuing to operate after a
failure to renew the license by the expiration date, the fine for an applicant,
unlicensed provider, or a licensee shall be $2,000.00;
(3) For advertising services or otherwise
representing that the facility has a license to provide services it is not
licensed to provide, in violation of
RSA 151:2,
III, the fine for an applicant, licensee or
unlicensed provider shall be $500.00;
(4) For a failure to transfer a patient whose
needs exceeds the services or programs provided by the licensee in violation of
RSA
151:5-a, the fine shall be $500.00;
(5) For admission of a patient
whose needs exceed the services or programs authorized by the license
classification, in violation of
RSA
151:5-a, II, and
He-P 802.18,
the fine for a licensee shall be $1,000.00;
(6) For a failure to comply with the
directives of a warning issued by the department in violation of
RSA
151:7-a and
He-P 802.11, He-P
802.13, or
He-P
802.14, the fine shall be $500.00;
(7) For a failure to submit a renewal
application for a license prior to the expiration date, in violation of
He-P
802.06(b) , the fine shall be
$500.00;
(8) For a failure to
notify the department prior to a change of ownership, in violation of
He-P
802.08(a) (1) , the fine shall be
$500.00;
(9) For a failure to
notify the department prior to a change in the physical location, in violation
of
He-P
802.08(a) (2) , the fine shall be
$500.00;
(10) For a failure to
notify the department of a change in e-mail address as required by
He-P
802.08(m) , the fine for a licensee
shall be $500.00;
(11) For a
failure to allow access by the department to the licensee's premises, programs,
services or records, in violation of
He-P 802.09(a)
, the fine for an individual or licensee
shall be $2,000.00;
(12) For a
failure to submit a POC or revised POC, within 21 or 14 days, respectively, in
violation of
He-P 802.12(c) (2) or (c)
(5), the fine for a licensee shall be
$500.00 unless an extension has been granted by the department;
(13) For a failure to implement or maintain
corrective action set forth in any POC that has been accepted or issued by the
department, in violation of
He-P 802.12(c)
, the fine for a licensee shall be $1,000.00;
(14) For a failure to establish,
implement, or comply with all policies generated by the licensee as required
under this rule, the fine for a licensee shall be $1,000.00;
(15) For a failure to provide services or
programs required by the licensing classification and specified by
He-P 802.18,
the fine for a licensee shall be $500.00;
(16) For exceeding the maximum number of
patients, in violation of
He-P
802.14(m) , the fine for a licensee
shall be $500.00 per day;
(17) For
creating or providing false or misleading information contained on an
application or on any records required to be maintained for licensing, in
violation of
He-P
802.14(h) , the fine shall be
$1,00.00 per offense;
(18) For a
failure to meet the needs of the patient, in violation of
He-P
802.14(k) (1) , the fine for a
licensee shall be $1,000.00 per patient;
(19) For employing, contracting with, or
engaging an administrator, medical director, or other personnel who do not meet
the qualifications for the position as set forth in this rule and a waiver was
not received, the fine for a licensee shall be $500.00;
(20) For placing a patient in a room that has
not been approved or licensed by the department, in violation of
He-P 802.27,
the fine for a licensee shall be $500.00;
(21) For failure to report an adverse event
as required by
He-P
802.15, the fine for a licensee shall be $2,000.00 per
occurrence;
(22) For failure to
report infections and process measures as identified and required by
He-P
802.22, the fine for a licensee shall be $1,000.00 per
occurrence;
(23) For failure to
submit architectural plans or drawings prior to undertaking construction or
renovation of the licensed facility in violation of
He-P
802.07(a) , the fine for a licensed
facility shall be $500.00;
(24)
For occupying a renovated area of a licensed facility or new construction prior
to approval by local and state authorities, as required by
He-P 802.09(b) (6)
, the fine shall be $500 per day;
or
(25) For failing to comply with
any provision of He-P 802 where a patient's health, safety, or well-being is
placed in jeopardy, the fine shall be $1,000.
(e) When an inspection determines that a
violation of RSA 151 or He-P 802 has the potential to jeopardize the health,
safety, or well-being of a patient, in addition to any other enforcement
actions taken by the department, the fines assessed shall be as follows:
(1) If the same deficiency is cited within 2
years of the original deficiency, the fine for a licensee shall be double the
initial fine, but not to exceed $2,000.00; and
(2) If the same deficiency is cited a third
time within 2 years of being fined in
a.
above, the fine for a licensee shall be triple the fine, but not to exceed
$2,000.00.
(f) Each day that the individual or licensee
continues to be in violation of the provisions of RSA 151 or He-P 802 shall
constitute a separate violation and shall be fined in accordance with
He-P 802.12(f)
. If the applicant or licensee is making good
faith efforts to comply with He-P 802, the department shall not issue a daily
fine.
(g) Payment of any imposed
fine to the department shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Payment shall be made in the form of
check or money order made payable to the "Treasurer, State of New Hampshire" or
cash in the exact amount due; and
(2) Cash, money order, or certified check
shall be required when an applicant or licensee has issued payment to the
department by check, and such check was returned for insufficient
funds.
(h) An applicant,
licensee, or unlicensed entity shall have 30 days after receipt of the notice
of enforcement action to request a hearing to contest the action.
(i) If a written request for a hearing is not
made pursuant to (h) above, the action of the department shall become
final.
(j) The department shall
order the immediate suspension of a license, the cessation of operations, and
the transfer of care of patients when it finds that the health, safety, or
welfare of patients is in jeopardy and requires emergency action in accordance
with
RSA 541-A:30,
III.
(k) If an immediate suspension is upheld, the
licensee shall not resume operating until the department determines through
inspection that compliance with RSA 151 and He-P 802 is achieved.
(l) Hearings under this section shall be
conducted in accordance with RSA 541-A and He-C 200.
(m) When a license has been revoked for a
reason listed in (c) or (d) above, the licensee shall not be eligible to
reapply for a license for at least 5 years.
(n) If a license is revoked, the
administrator or medical director:
(1) Shall
not be employed as an administrator or medical director for at least 5 years if
the enforcement action pertained to their role in the hospital; and
(2) Shall be reported to the appropriate
licensing board.
(o) The
5-year period referenced in (m) and (n) above shall begin on:
(1) The date of the department's decision to
revoke or deny the license, if no request for a hearing is requested pursuant
to (h) above; or
(2) The date a
final decision upholding the action of the department is issued, if a request
for a hearing is made and a hearing is held.
(p) Notwithstanding (o) above, the department
shall consider an application submitted after the decision to revoke or deny
becomes final, if the applicant demonstrates that circumstances have changed to
the extent that the department now has good cause to believe that the applicant
has the requisite degree of knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to
maintain compliance with the provisions of RSA 151 and He-P 802.
(q)
RSA 151:8
and RSA 541-A shall govern further appeals of department decisions under this
section.
(r) No ongoing enforcement
action shall preclude the imposition of any remedy available to the department
under RSA 151,
RSA 541-A:30,
III, or He-P 802.
#2044, eff 6-3-82; ss by #3193, eff 1-28-86, EXPIRED:
1-28-92; ss by #5317, EMERGENCY, eff 1-29-92, EXPIRED 5-28-92
New . #5846, eff 6-22-94,
EXPIRED: 6-22-00
New. #9580, eff
10-24-09
