Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The licensee
shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified personnel are present in the
HH to meet the needs of patients at all times.
(b) The licensee shall develop a job
description for each position in the HH containing:
(1) Duties of the position;
(2) Physical requirements of the position;
and
(3) Qualifications and
educational requirements of the position.
(c) All direct care personnel shall be at
least 18 years of age unless they are:
(1) An
LNA working under the supervision of an RN in accordance with Nur 700;
or
(2) Part of an established
educational program working under the supervision of a registered
nurse.
(d) For all new
hires, the licensee shall:
(1) Obtain and
review criminal records check in accordance with
RSA
151:2-d. Results must include criminal
history from the state of New Hampshire;
(2) Verify the qualifications and licenses,
as applicable, of all applicants prior to employment; and
(3) Verify that the applicant is not on the
BEAS registry maintained by the department's bureau of elderly and adult
services per RSA
161-F:49.
(e) Unless a waiver is granted in accordance
with He-P
824.10, the licensee shall not offer employment for
any position if the individual:
(1) Has been
convicted of a felony in this or any other state;
(2) Has been convicted of a sexual assault,
other violent crime, assault, fraud, theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation in
this or any other state;
(3) Has
had a finding 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 patients.
(f) If the information identified in (e)
above regarding any person in (d) 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 (e) above.
(g) If a waiver of (e) above is
requested, the department shall review the information and the underlying
circumstances in (e) 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
(e) above if, after investigation, it determines that the person does not pose
a current threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a
patient(s).
(h) The
licensee shall 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.
(i) In lieu of (d) and (h)
above, 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 (c)
and (g) above and do not meet the criteria in (d) above.
(j) Prior to having direct care contact with
patients, personnel, including volunteers and independent contractors shall:
(1) Submit to the licensee 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 and for personnel other than volunteers and independent contractors,
submit the results of a physical examination or a health screening;
(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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"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 M. tuberculosis through shared air space with persons
with infectious tuberculosis; and
(4) In lieu of (1) above, independent
contractors hired by the facility may provide the facility with a signed
statement that they have complied with (1) and (3) above for their employees
working at the HH.
(k)
Within the first 7 days of employment, all personnel who have direct or
indirect contact with patients, to include volunteers who have direct care
contact or who prepare and serve food shall receive a tour of the HH and an
orientation that includes the following:
(1)
The patients' rights in accordance with
RSA
151:21;
(2) The HH's complaint procedures;
(3) The duties and responsibilities of the
position;
(4) The medical emergency
procedures;
(5) The HH's infection
control procedures and required by
He-P
824.22;
(6) The HH's emergency and evacuation
procedures;
(7) The procedures for
food safety for those personnel involved in preparation, serving, and storing
of food; and
(8) The mandatory
reporting requirements such as RSA 161:F: 46-48 and RSA 169-C: 29-31.
(l) Within the first 3 months of
employment, all personnel who have direct or indirect contact with patients, to
include volunteers who have direct care contact or who prepare and serve food
shall receive an orientation to hospice philosophy relative to the delivery of
care and services to hospice patients and their families.
(m) All personnel shall complete mandatory
annual in-service education, which shall include a review of the information
required by (k)(7) and (8) above.
(n) The licensee shall comply with all
dementia training requirements pursuant to
RSA
151:47-49 including continuing
education.
(o) Such continuing
education shall include new information on best practices in the treatment and
care of persons with dementia and be provided for:
(1) A minimum of 6 hours for initial
continuing education to covered administrative staff members and covered direct
service staff members; and
(2) A
minimum of 4 hours of ongoing training each calendar year.
(p) 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 patient; and
(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.
(q) Personnel, volunteers, or independent
contractors hired by the licensee who will have direct care contact with
patients, as defined in
He-P
824.03(s), or direct contact with
food who have a history of TB or a positive skin test shall have a
symptomatology screen in lieu of a TB test.
(r) The licensee shall inform personnel of
the line of authority at the HH.
(s) The personnel file for each individual
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 patient's rights and responsibilities as required by
RSA
151:21;
(4) A copy of the results of the criminal
record check as described in (a) 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 (n)
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 and demonstrated competencies
that is signed and dated by the employee;
(9) 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; and
(10) The
statement required by (t) below.
(t) 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 patient; 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.
(u) The licensee shall maintain separate
personnel records that:
(1) Contain the
information required by (s) above; and
(2) Are protected and stored in a secure and
confidential manner.
(v)
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.
#9317, eff
11-8-08
