Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The licensee
shall develop a job description for each position at the nursing home
containing:
(1) Duties of the
position;
(2) Physical requirements
of the position; and
(3) Education
and experience requirements of the position.
(b) All direct care personnel shall be at
least 18 years of age unless they are:
(1) A
student in a New Hampshire board of nursing approved nursing or nursing
assistant program;
(2) A nursing
assistant working under the supervision of a nurse in accordance with Nur 700;
or
(3) Part of an established
educational program working under the supervision of a nurse.
(c) For all new hires, the
licensee shall:
(1) Obtain and review a
criminal records check from the New Hampshire department of safety in
accordance with
RSA
151:2-d;
(2) Verify the qualifications and licenses,
as applicable, of all applicants prior to employment; and
(3) Verify that the applicant is not on the
List of Excluded Individuals and Entities, maintained by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General per
42 USC
1320 -a7, or on the BEAS registry maintained
by the department's bureau of elderly and adult services per
RSA 161-F:49.
(d) Unless a waiver is granted in
accordance with He-P 803.10 and(f) below, the licensee shall not make a final
offer of employment for any position if the individual:
(1) Has been convicted of any felony in this
or any other known state;
(2) Has
been convicted for sexual assault, other violent crime, assault, fraud, abuse,
theft, neglect, or exploitation;
(3) Has had a finding by the department or
any administrative agency in this or any other known state for assault, fraud,
theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation or any person; or
(4) Otherwise poses a threat to the health,
safety, or well-being of residents.
(e) If the information identified in (d)
above regarding any person in (c) above is learned after the person is hired,
contracted with, or engaged, the licensee shall immediately notify the
department and either:
(1) Cease employing,
contracting with, or engaging the person; or
(2) Request a waiver of (d) above.
(f) If a waiver of (d) above is
requested, the department shall review the information and the underlying
circumstances in (d) above and shall either:
(1) Notify the licensee that the person
cannot or can no longer be employed, contracted with, or engaged by the
licensee; or
(2) Grant a waiver of
(d) above if, after investigation, it determines that the person does not pose
a current threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a resident(s)
.
(g) The licensee shall
not employ, contract with, or engage, any person in (c) above who is listed on
the BEAS state registry unless a waiver is granted by BEAS.
(h) In lieu of (c) and (g) above, the
licensee may accept from independent agencies contracted by the licensee or by
an individual resident to provide direct care or personal care services a
signed statement that the agency's employees have complied with (c) and (g)
above and do not meet the criteria in (d) above.
(i) All employees shall:
(1) Meet the educational and physical
qualifications of the position as listed in their job description;
(2) Not be permitted to maintain their
employment if they have been convicted of a felony, sexual assault, other
violent crime, assault, fraud, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of any person in
this or any other state by a court of law or had a complaint investigation for
abuse, neglect, or exploitation adjudicated and founded by the department
unless a waiver has been granted by the department;
(3) Be licensed, registered or certified as
required by state statute and as applicable;
(4) Receive an orientation within the first 3
days of work prior to the assumption of duties that includes:
a. The nursing home's policies on patient
rights and responsibilities and complaint procedures as required by
RSA
151:20;
b. The duties and responsibilities, policies,
procedures, and guidelines, of the position they were hired for;
c. The nursing home's infection control
program;
d. The nursing home's
fire, evacuation, and emergency plans which outline the responsibilities of
personnel in an emergency; and
e.
Mandatory reporting requirements for abuse or neglect such as those found in
RSA 161-F and
RSA
169-C:29; and
(5) Complete a mandatory annual in-service
education, which includes a review of the nursing home's:
a. Policies and procedures on patient rights
and responsibilities and abuse or neglect;
b. Infection control;
c. Education program on fire and emergency
procedures; and
d. Mandatory
reporting requirements.
(j) Prior to having contact with residents,
employees shall:
(1) Submit to the licensee
the results of a physical examination or a health screening performed by a
licensed nurse or a licensed practitioner and the results of a 2-step
tuberculosis (TB) test, Mantoux method or other method approved by the Centers
for Disease Control, conducted not more than 12 months prior to
employment;
(2) Be allowed to work
while waiting for the results of the second step of the TB test when the
results of the first step are negative for TB;
(3) Comply with the requirements of the
United States Centers for Disease Control "Guidelines for Preventing the
Transmission of M tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings" (2005 edition),
available as noted in Appendix A, if the person has either a positive TB test,
or has had direct contact or potential for occupational exposure to
Mycobacterium tuberculosis through shared air space with persons with
infectious tuberculosis; and
(4)
Comply with all public health guidelines with regard to the requirements for
communicable infectious disease reporting pursuant to He-P 301.
(k) All licensees using the
services of independent contractors as direct care personnel shall ensure and
document that the independent clinical contractors have:
(1) Been oriented in accordance with (i) (4)
above;
(2) Documented results of
all infectious disease testing shall comply as required by (j) (1) -(4)
above;
(3) Licenses that are
current and valid; and
(4) A
written agreement that describes the services that will be provided.
(l) Current, separate and complete
employee files shall be maintained and stored in a secure and confidential
manner at the nursing home.
(m) The
employee file shall include the following:
(1) A completed application for employment or
a resume, including:
a. Identification data;
and
b. The education and work
experience of the employee;
(2) A signed statement acknowledging the
receipt of the nursing home's policy setting forth the patient's rights and
responsibilities, and acknowledging training and implementation of the policy
as required by
RSA
151:20;
(3) A job description signed by the
individual that identifies the:
a. Position
title;
b. Qualifications and
experience; and
c. Duties required
by the position;
(4) A
record of satisfactory completion of the orientation program required by (i)
(4) above and any required annual continuing education, if any;
(5) Verification of current New Hampshire
license, registration or certification in health care field and CPR
certification, if applicable;
(6)
Documentation that the required physical examination, or health screening, and
TB test results or radiology reports of chest x-rays, if required, have been
completed by the appropriate health professionals;
(7) Documentation of annual in-service
education as required by (i) (5) above;
(8) A statement, which shall be signed at the
time the initial offer of employment is made and then annually thereafter,
stating that he or she:
a. Does not have a
felony conviction in this or any other state;
b. Has not been convicted of a sexual
assault, other violent crime, assault, fraud, abuse, neglect or exploitation or
pose a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a resident; and
c. Has not had a finding by the department or
any administrative agency in this or any other state for assault, fraud, abuse,
neglect, or exploitation of any person;
(9) Documentation of the criminal records
check, except for persons licensed by the NH board of nursing pursuant to RSA
326-B as allowed by
RSA 151:2-d,
VI; and
(10) Documentation that the individual or
entity is not on the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities, maintained by
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
per
42 USC
1320 -a7, or on the BEAS registry maintained
by the department's bureau of elderly and adult services per
RSA 161-F:49.
(n) An individual need not
re-disclose any of the matters in (m) (8) and (m) (9) above if the
documentation is available and the department has previously reviewed the
material and granted a waiver so that the individual can continue
employment.
#9856-A, eff
1-26-11
