(a) Governing Body.
The home health agency shall have a governing body which has legal authority
and responsibility to operate the home health agency. The governing body shall:
(i) Obtain a fidelity bond for client
protection arising from the want of honesty, integrity or fidelity of any
employee. The bond shall consist of no less than $2500 and shall be augmented
in relation to the number of employees.
(ii) Provide verification of a central
registry check on all employees hired at the time of, or after, the filing of
these rules. The individual, agencies or corporations are responsible to
initiate and follow this process to completion.
Central Registry information can be obtained by contacting
the Department of Family Services at307-777-5894. (This number may be subject
to change.)
(iii) Adopt,
revise, and approve personnel policies; including;
(A) Frequency and content of evaluations;
and
(B) Assurance of
confidentiality of information obtained from the Central Registry.
(iv) Prepare an organizational
chart that reflects the administrative control and lines of authority for the
delegation of responsibility from management down to the client
level.
(v) Appoint a qualified
administrator who is designated in writing as responsible and available for all
aspects of agency operation.
(A) A qualified
administrator is:
(I) A licensed physician,
registered nurse, or college graduate with a bachelors degree who has a minimum
of three (3) years of health care management experience; or
(II) A person without a college degree may
qualify by obtaining and documenting the equivalent of six (6) years of
supervisory experience in health care management.
(B) The administrator and supervisory nurse
may be the same individual if the individual is dually qualified.
(C) The administrator must identify in
writing an individual who is qualified and authorized to act on behalf of the
administrator when the administrator is not available.
(vi) Employ a supervisory nurse who is a
registered nurse and who has at least one (1) year home health experience. The
supervisory nurse must be available during the normal hours of operation. In
lieu of the one (1) year home health experience requirement, a consultation
agreement shall suffice when the agreement:
(A) Is in writing and signed by all parties
involved;
(B) Enables the
supervisory nurse to have immediate contact, seven (7) days a week, twenty-four
(24) hours per day with a registered nurse who has at least one (1) year of
home health experience;
(C) Remains
in effect until the supervisory nurse has gained one (1) year of home health
experience; and
(D) Requires the
consultations to be documented and on file at the location of the supervisory
nurse.
(vii) Develop an
effective, ongoing, agency-wide, written quality management program which
ensures and evaluates quality of care provided to all clients in accordance
with W.S. §
35-2-910.
(viii) Grievance Procedure.
(A) The written grievance procedure shall
establish a system of reviewing complaints and allegations of clients' rights
violations to include, but not be limited to:
(I) Client method to voice
grievances;
(II) Documentation of
the home health agencys response to verbal and written client
grievances;
(III) List of
appropriate agencies, with addresses and telephone numbers for clients to
contact if grievances are not addressed satisfactorily; and
(IV) Written reports of all unresolved
grievances shall be provided to the Licensing Division within ten (10) days
after the grievance is filed with the home health agency. (If the ten (10) day
requirement cannot be met the Licensing Division should be
contacted.)
(V) Resolved grievances
and the resolutions shall be kept on file in the agency office.
(ix) Complaint
Investigations.
(A) Clients' complaints and
problems shall be referred in writing to the State Long Term Care
Ombudsman.
(B) The Office of the
Ombudsman shall complete all complaint investigations within an appropriate
time frame depending upon the seriousness of the allegations.
(C) Written reports of investigations and the
status of resolutions completed by the home health agency shall be provided by
the State Long Term Care Ombudsman to the Licensing Division, within thirty
(30) days after the completion of the investigation.
Exception: Those complaints or
problems reported directly to the State Survey Agency or referred by the State
Long Term Care Ombudsman to the State Survey Agency shall be investigated by
the State Survey Agency as per the Agreement between the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the State of Wyoming dated June 18,
1985.
(x)
Employee Personnel Records.
(A) There shall
be one (1) person designated responsible for maintaining
confidentiality.
(xi)
Employee Health.
(A) The home health agency
shall develop policies and procedures for employee health including a policy
that identifies communicable diseases that could put the client population at
risk.
(B) The home health agency
must document that the employee is free of communicable diseases that could be
a risk to the client population.
(xii) Advanced Directives.
(A) The home health agency shall adopt
policies which assure that it provides information on advanced directives to
clients. If the clients advanced directives are known, they shall be followed
by the home health agency.
(xiii) Clients' Rights.
(A) A home health client has the right to:
(I) Be treated with dignity, consideration
and respect.
(II) Have his/her
property treated with respect,
(III) Receive a timely response to his/her
request for service.
(IV) Be fully
informed upon admission of the care and treatment that will be provided, how
much it will cost, and how payment will be handled.
(V) Be informed in advance of any changes in
care to be furnished.
(VI) Be
informed in advance if he/she will be responsible for any payment.
(VII) Receive care from professionally
trained personnel. Be informed of the names and responsibilities of care
providers, and to have the right of choice in care providers.
(VIII) Participate in designing a care plan,
and periodically updating it as his/her condition changes. Refuse treatment and
to be told the consequences of his/her actions.
(IX) Expect confidentiality of all
information related to his/her care, within required regulations.
(X) Be informed within a reasonable time of
anticipated termination of service. Be referred elsewhere, if he/she is denied
services based solely on his/her ability to pay.
(XI) Authorize discontinuation of treatment
which will be respected in accordance with the home health agencys
policy.
(XII) Know how to make a
complaint or grievance or recommend changes in agency policies and services,
and have the freedom to do so.
(XIII) Call the home health agency
administration during regular office hours.
(XIV) Call a home health hotline number as
provided by the provider.
(xiv) Notification.
(A) Prior to admission all prospective
clients shall be notified if the home health agency is not Medicare and/or
Medicaid certified.
(B) The
responsible party shall be notified of the service charges at the time of
admission and notified of changes in the charges at least thirty (30) days in
advance of the changes.