Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
In this section, "employee" means anyone directly employed by
the facility on other than a consulting or contractual basis.
A. Qualifications and restrictions: No person
under 16 years of age shall be employed to provide direct care to
residents.
B. Physical health
certifications: Every new employee shall be certified in writing by a physician
as having been screened for tuberculosis infection and provide a statement of
medical evidence that they are currently free from communicable disease prior
to beginning work.
C. Disease
surveillance and control: Facilities shall develop and implement written
policies for control of communicable diseases which ensure that employees and
volunteers with systems or signs of communicable disease or infected skin
lesions are not permitted to work unless authorized to do so by a physician or
physician extender.
D. Volunteers:
Facilities may use volunteers provided that the volunteers receive the
orientation, training, and supervision necessary to assure resident health,
safety and welfare.
E. Abuse of
residents:
(1) Orientation for all employees:
Except in an emergency, before performing any duties, each new employee,
including temporary help, shall receive appropriate orientation to the facility
and its policies, including, but not limited to, policies relating to fire
prevention, accident prevention, and emergency procedures. All employees shall
be oriented to resident's rights and to their position and duties by the time
they have worked 30 days.
(2)
Training: Except for nurses, all employees who provide direct care to residents
shall be trained through a program approved by the authority.
(3) Assignments: Employees shall be assigned
only to resident care duties consistent with their training.
(4) Reporting: All employees will be
instructed in the reporting requirements of Section 27-7-14 NMSA 1978, the
Adult Protective Services Act, of abuse, neglect or exploitation of any
resident.
F. Continuing
education:
(1) Nursing in-service: The
facility shall require employees who provide direct care to residents to attend
educational programs desired to develop and improve the skill and knowledge of
the employees with respect to the needs of the facility's residents, including
rehabilitative therapy, oral health care, wheelchair safety and transportation
and special programming for developmentally disabled residents if the facility
admits developmentally disabled person. These programs shall be conducted
quarterly to enable staff to acquire the skills and techniques necessary to
implement the individual program plans for each resident under their
care.
(2) Dietary in-service:
Educational programs shall be held quarterly for dietary staff and shall
include instruction in the proper handling of food, personal hygiene and
grooming, and nutrition and modified diet patterns served by the
facility.
(3) All other staff
in-service: The facility shall provide in-service designed to improve the
skills and knowledge of all other employees.
