Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The licensee
shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified personnel are present in the
PRTP to meet the needs of clients at all times.
(b) In an acute setting or facilities
approved for IEA's there shall be at least 2 staff members on duty at all times
while clients are in the facility, one of whom shall be a registered
nurse.
(c) A psychiatrist shall be
available to the PRTP 24 hours a day for face-to-face consultation.
(d) For all applicants for employment,
volunteers, contracted employees, 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 in accordance with
RSA
151:2-d;
(2) Review the results of the criminal
records check in accordance with (e) below;
(3) Verify that the potential employee is not
listed on the state registry maintained by the department's bureau of elderly
and adult services in accordance with
RSA 161-F:49;
(4) Verify that the applicant meets the
qualifications of the position prior to employment; and
(5) If the applicant will be employed by a
child or youth program, verify that the potential employee is not listed in the
DCYF central registry.
(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 individual:
(1) Has been convicted of a felony in this of
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, 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 or DCYF central
registry unless a waiver is granted by BEAS and/or DCYF; 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)
Administrators appointed after the 2021 effective date of these rules shall be
at least 21 years of age and have a minimum of one of the following
combinations of education and experience:
(1)
A clinician licensed by the New Hampshire board of mental health or board of
psychology practice with at least one year of relevant experience;
(2) A master's degree in counseling,
psychology, or mental health from an accredited institution and 3 years of
relevant experience;
(3) A
bachelor's degree in counseling, psychology, or mental health from an
accredited institution and 5 years of relevant experience working in a
behavioral health related field;
(4) A New Hampshire license as an RN, with at
least 5 year of relevant experience working in a behavioral health related
field; or
(5) A degree which would
make them eligible for licensure from the board of mental health or
psychology.
(j) All
personnel providing care to adult clients 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 a licensed clinical
supervisor.
(k) All
personnel providing care to children and youth shall be at least 21 years of
age if working as a direct care personnel.
(l) The licensee shall inform personnel of
the line of authority at the PRTP.
(m) 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 licensed practitioner and submit 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 t in Health-Care Settings" (2005 edition),
available as noted in Appendix A, if the individual 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.
(n) In
lieu of (l)(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
(l)(1) and (3) above before working at the PRTF.
(o) Prior to having contact with clients or
food, personnel shall receive a tour of the PRTF and an orientation that
explains the following:
(1) The clients'
rights in accordance with
RSA
151:20;
(2) The PRTF's complaint
procedures;
(3) The duties and
responsibilities of the position;
(4) The medical emergency
procedures;
(5) Education focused
on treating and caring for residents with acute and persistent mental
illness;
(6) The emergency and
evacuation procedures;
(7) The
infection control procedures as required by
He-P
830.21;
(8) The facility confidentiality
requirements;
(9) Grievance
procedures for both staff and clients;
(10) The procedures for food safety for
personnel involved in preparation, serving, and storing of food; and
(11) The mandatory reporting requirements
including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29.
(p) 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 clients' 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;
(5) The mandatory reporting requirements
including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29; and
(6) Education on treating and caring for
residents with acute and persistent mental illness.
(q) The PRTP shall maintain a separate
employee file for each employee, which includes 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 and a copy of initial and annual signed
conviction statement per He-P 830.18(r);
(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.
(r) The PRTP 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
(p)(1), (3), (4), (6), and (8)-(12) above; and
(2) For independent contractors, the
information in (p)(3), (4), (6), and (8)-(12) above, except that the letter in
(h) and (p) above may be substituted for (p)(4), (10), and (12) above, if
applicable.
(s)
Personnel records shall be maintained in a confidential manner by:
(1) Maintaining a separate file for each
employee which shall contain information relating only to that employee;
and
(2) Storing the file in a
locked container or cabinet in the facility.
(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 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.
(u) For individuals with the waiver described
in (f) above, the statement required by (s) above shall cover the period of
time since the waiver was granted.
(v) An individual shall not be required to
re-disclose any of the matters in (r) above if the documentation is available
and the department has previously reviewed the material and determined that the
individual can continue employment.
(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 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.
(y) Personnel shall not be impaired while on
the job by any substances including, but not limited to, legally prescribed
medication, therapeutic cannabis, or alcohol.
(z) The PRTF 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.
(aa) The policy in (y) 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.
#10059, eff
12-23-11
