Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
For purposes of ORS
441.174 and these rules:
(1) "Affiliated hospital" means a hospital
that has a business relationship with another hospital.
(2) "Hospital" means an acute inpatient care
facility as defined in ORS
442.470 or a hospital as
described in ORS 442.015:
(a) "Acute inpatient care facility" means a
licensed hospital with an organized medical staff, with permanent facilities
that include inpatient beds, and with comprehensive medical services, including
physician services and continuous nursing services under the supervision of
registered nurses, to provide diagnosis and medical or surgical treatment
primarily for but not limited to acutely ill patients and accident victims. ORS
442.470.
(b) "Hospital" means a facility with an
organized medical staff, with permanent facilities that include inpatient beds
and with medical services, including physician services and continuous nursing
services under the supervision of registered nurses, to provide diagnosis and
medical or surgical treatment primarily for but not limited to acutely ill
patients and accident victims, to provide treatment for the mentally ill or to
provide treatment in special inpatient care facilities. ORS
442.015.
(3) "Manager" means a person who:
(a) Has authority to direct and control the
work performance of nursing staff;
(b) Has authority to take corrective action
regarding a violation of law or a rule or a violation of professional standards
of practice, about which a nursing staff has complained; or
(c) Has been designated by a hospital to
receive the notice described in ORS
441.174(2) and
OAR 839-010-0210(1).
(4) "Nursing staff"
means a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, a nursing assistant or
any other assistive nursing personnel.
(5) "Public body" has the meaning given that
term in ORS 30.260.
(6) "Retaliatory action" means the discharge,
suspension, demotion, harassment, denial of employment or promotion, or layoff
of a nursing staff, or other adverse action taken against a nursing staff in
the terms or conditions of employment of the nursing staff by a hospital,
because the nursing staff:
(a) Discloses or
intends to disclose to a manager, a private accreditation organization or a
public body an activity, policy or practice of the hospital or of a hospital
that the nursing staff reasonably believes is in violation of law or a rule or
is a violation of professional standards of practice that the nursing staff
reasonably believes poses a risk to the health, safety or welfare of a patient
or the public;
(b) Provides
information to or testifies before a private accreditation organization or a
public body conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into an alleged
violation of law or rule or into an activity, policy or practice that may be in
violation of professional standards of practice by a hospital that the nursing
staff reasonably believes poses a risk to the health, safety or welfare of a
patient or the public;
(c) Objects
to or refuses to participate in any activity, policy or practice of a hospital
that the nursing staff reasonably believes is in violation of law or rule or is
a violation of professional standards of practice that the nursing staff
reasonably believes poses a risk to the health, safety or welfare of a patient
or the public; or
(d) Participates
in a committee or peer review process or files a report or a complaint that
discusses allegations of unsafe, dangerous or potentially dangerous care.
(7) For purposes of
subsection (6) of this rule, "other adverse action" includes, but is not
limited to:
(a) Constructive discharge as
defined in OAR 839-005-0035;
(b) A
significant or material change in a term or condition of employment, such as
transferring a nursing staff to another location, shift or work schedule, or
reducing work hours or remuneration for services;
(c) Making a decision that causes a
significant or material change in an employment benefit;
(d) Removal of significant or material duties
or responsibilities;
(e)
Restriction or prohibition of access to the hospital or other facility, whether
or not the action affects or will affect pay or other compensation;
(f) Withholding career-advancing
opportunities such as training or participation in seminars or committees; or
(g) Supervisory reprimands,
warnings of possible dismissal or withholding of work.
(8) For purposes of ORS
441.174 and these rules, a
nursing staff "reasonably believes" if:
(a) A
reasonable nursing staff in the circumstances would believe that an activity,
policy or practice of a hospital:
(A) Is in
violation of law or a rule or is in violation of professional standards of
practice; or
(B) Poses a risk to
the health, safety or welfare of a patient or the public; or
(b) An activity, policy or
practice is in violation of law or rule or is in violation of professional
standards of practice.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
659A.805 &
441.178
Stats. Implemented: ORS
441.172 &
441.178
