Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The licensee
shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified personnel are present in the
RTRF to meet the needs of clients at all times.
(b) There shall be at least one awake
personnel member on duty at all times while clients are in the
facility.
(c) The licensee shall
develop a job description for each position in the RTRF containing:
(1) Position title;
(2) Duties of the position;
(3) Physical requirements of the position;
and
(4) Qualifications and
educational requirements of the position.
(d) For all applicants for employment,
volunteers, and independent contractors who will provide direct care or
personal care services to clients or who will be unaccompanied by an employee
while performing non-direct care or non-personal care services within the
facility, the licensee shall:
(1) Obtain and
review a criminal records check from the New Hampshire department of safety,
except, pursuant to
RSA
151:2-d;
(2) Review the results of the criminal
records check in accordance with (e) below;
(3) Verify the qualifications of all
applicants prior to employment;
(4) Verify that the applicant is not listed
on the BEAS state registry maintained by the department's bureau of elderly and
adult services in accordance with
RSA 161-F:49;
and
(5) Verify the applicant is
licensed, registered, or certified if required by state statute.
(e) Unless a waiver is granted in
accordance with (g) below, the licensee shall not offer employment, contract
with, or otherwise engage a person in (d) above if the person:
(1) Has been convicted of a felony in this or
any other state;
(2) Has been
convicted for sexual assault, other violent crime, assault, fraud, theft,
abuse, neglect, or exploitation in this or any other state;
(3) Has been found by the department or any
administrative agency in this or any other state for assault, fraud, theft,
abuse, neglect, or exploitation of any person; or
(4) Otherwise poses a threat to the health,
safety, or well-being of the clients.
(f) If the information identified in (e)
above regarding any person subject to (d) above is learned after the person is
hired, contracted with, or engaged with, 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.
(g) 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 shall
not or no longer shall be employed, contracted with, or engaged by the
licensee, or the person shall not or no longer shall reside in the facility if,
after investigation, it determines that the person poses a threat to the
health, safety, or well-being of a client; 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 client(s) .
(h) The licensee shall:
(1) Not employ, contract with, or engage any
person in (d) above who is listed on the BEAS state registry unless a waiver is
granted by BEAS; and
(2) Only
employ, contract with, or engage board of nursing licensees who are listed on
the nursing assistant registry or licensing site with the NH board of nursing
or are licensed with a reciprocal multi-compact state.
(i) In lieu of (d) and (g), the licensee may
accept from independent agencies contracted by the licensee or by an individual
patient to provide direct care or personal care services a signed statement
that the agency's employees have complied with (d) and (g) and do not meet the
criteria in (e) and (g) .
(j) The
waiver in (g) (2) above shall be permanent for as long as the individual
remains in the same job unless additional convictions or findings under (e)
above occur.
(k) Administrators
shall be at least 21 years of age and have a minimum of one of the following
combinations of education and experience:
(1)
A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and one year of relevant
experience working in a health related field;
(2) A New Hampshire license as an RN, with at
least one year relevant experience working in a health related field;
or
(3) An associate's degree from
an accredited institution plus 3 years relevant experience in a health related
field.
(l) All
administrators shall obtain and document in accordance with (s) (7) and (s) (8)
below, 12 hours of continuing education related to the operation and services
of the RTRF each annual licensing period.
(m) All personnel shall be at least 18 years
of age if working as direct care personnel unless they are:
(1) A licensed nursing assistant working
under the supervision of a nurse in accordance with Nur 700; or
(2) Involved in an established educational
program working under the supervision of licensed staff.
(n) The licensee shall inform personnel of
the line of authority at the RTRF.
(o) Prior to having contact with clients or
food, personnel 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, both conducted not more than 12 months prior to
employment, contract, or engagement;
(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; and
(3) Comply
with the requirements of the Centers for Disease Control "Guidelines for
Preventing the Transmission of s 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 M.
tuberculosis through shared air space with persons with infectious
tuberculosis.
(p) In
lieu of (o) (1) above, independent agencies contracted by the facility or by an
individual client to provide direct care or personal care services may provide
the licensee with a signed statement that its employees have complied with (o)
(1) and (3) above before working at the RTRF.
(q) Prior to having contact with clients or
food, personnel shall receive a tour of the RTRF and an orientation that
explains the following:
(1) The clients'
rights in accordance with
RSA
151:20;
(2) The RTRF's complaint
procedures;
(3) The duties and
responsibilities of the position;
(4) The medical emergency
procedures;
(5) The emergency and
evacuation procedures;
(6) The
infection control procedures as required by
He-P
807.21;
(7) The facility confidentiality
requirements;
(8) Grievance
procedures for both staff and clients;
(9) The procedures for food safety for
personnel involved in preparation, serving and storing of food; and
(10) The mandatory reporting requirements
including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29.
(q) The licensee shall provide all personnel
with an annual continuing education or in-service education training, which at
a minimum contains the following:
(1) The
licensee's client's rights and complaint procedures required under RSA
151;
(2) The licensee's infection
control program;
(3) The
licensee's written emergency plan;
(4) The licensee's policies and procedures;
and
(5) The mandatory reporting
requirements including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29.
(r) The licensee shall provide an annual
review of its policies and procedures for self-administration of medication,
self-administration of medication with supervision, and self-directed
medication administration to all direct care personnel, as
applicable.
(s) The RTRF shall
maintain a separate employee file for each employee, which shall include the
following:
(1) A completed application for
employment or a resume;
(2) Proof
that the individual meets the minimum age requirements;
(3) A statement signed by each individual
that he or she has received a copy of and received training on the
implementation of the licensee's policy setting forth the clients rights and
responsibilities as required by
RSA
151:21;
(4) A copy of the results of the criminal
record check as described in (d) above;
(5) A job description signed by the
individual that identifies the:
a. Position
title;
b. Qualifications and
experience; and
c. Duties required
by the position;
(6)
Record of satisfactory completion of the orientation program required by (q)
above;
(7) Information as to the
general content and length of all in-service or educational programs
attended;
(8) Record of
satisfactory completion of all required education programs required
above;
(9) A copy of a current,
valid driver's license, including proof of insurance, if the employee
transports clients;
(10)
Documentation that the required physical examinations, health screenings, TB
test results, and radiology reports of chest x-rays, if required, have been
completed by the appropriate health professionals;
(11) The statement required by (u) below;
and
(12) The results of the
registry checks in (h) above
(t) The RTRF shall maintain the records, but
not necessarily a separate file, for all volunteers and for all independent
contractors who provide direct care or personal care services to clients or who
will be unaccompanied by an employee while performing non-direct care or
non-personal care services within the facility, as follows:
(1) For volunteers, the information in (s)
(1), (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12) above; and
(2) For independent contractors, the
information in (s) (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12) above, except that the letter
in (h) and (o) above may be substituted for (s) (4), (10), and (12) above, if
applicable.
(u) All
personnel shall sign a statement at the time the initial offer of employment is
made and then annually thereafter stating that they:
(1) Do not have a felony conviction in this
or any other state;
(2) Have 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 client; or
(3) Have 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.
(v) An
individual shall not have to re-disclose any of the matters in (u) above if the
documentation is available and the department has previously reviewed the
material and determined that the individual can continue employment, contract,
or engagement.
(w) An individual
shall disclose any new convictions, as soon as practicable, to the facility
administrator. Any such convictions shall be reported to the department for
review.
(x) The licensee shall
protect and store in a secure and confidential manner all records described in
(s) and (t) above.
(y) The licensee
shall document evidence of immunization against influenza and pneumococcal
disease for all consenting employees and shall provide to its consenting
employees annual immunizations against influenza, to include:
(1) That immunizations shall be provided and
reported in accordance with
RSA
151:9-b, I-V; and
(2) The facility shall have a plan that
identifies and documents, with dates, employees that have received or declined
to receive immunizations.
(z) Personnel shall not be impaired while on
the job by any substances including, but not limited to, legally prescribed
medication, therapeutic cannabis, or alcohol.
(aa) The RTRF shall have a written policy, as
described in
RSA
151:41, establishing procedures for the
prevention, detection, and resolution of controlled substance misuse, and
diversion, which shall apply to all personnel, and which shall be the
responsibility of a designated employee or interdisciplinary team.
(ab) The policy in (aa) above shall include
provisions relating to the following:
(1)
Education;
(2) Procedures for
monitoring the distribution and storage of controlled substances;
(3) Procedures for voluntary self-referral by
employees who are misusing substances;
(4) Co-worker reporting procedures;
(5) Drug testing procedures to include at a
minimum, testing where reasonable suspicion of misuse or diversion by personnel
exists;
(6) Employee assistance
procedures;
(7) Confidentiality of
investigations, reports, and resolutions of controlled drug misuse or
diversion;
(8) Investigation,
reporting, and resolution of controlled drug misuse or diversion; and
(9) The consequences for violation of the
controlled substance misuse, and diversion prevention policy.
#9873-A, eff
2-24-11
