General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6887
January Session, 2015 LCO No. 4151
*04151_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6887
January Session, 2015
LCO No. 4151
*04151_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE PROTECTION OF RESIDENTS IN HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-511 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
As used in this section and sections [19a-511] 19a-512 to 19a-520, inclusive, "nursing home" means an institution licensed under this chapter and "nursing home administrator" means the person in general administrative charge of a nursing home. All nursing homes licensed under this chapter shall be under the supervision of a licensed nursing home administrator. The nursing home administrator shall be responsible for the quality and safety of all services provided in a nursing home.
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 19a-535a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(c) (1) The facility shall be responsible for assisting the resident in finding appropriate placement. Such assistance shall include: (A) Providing the resident with a list of settings that are appropriate for the resident's placement and within the geographic area in which the resident desires to reside; and (B) assisting the resident in completing applications for potential placement settings, including, but not limited to, completing medical forms and obtaining necessary medical information.
(2) A written discharge plan, prepared by the facility, [which indicates] signed by the person who prepared the discharge plan on behalf of the facility administrator, and indicating the resident's individual needs shall accompany the [patient] resident. The discharge plan shall include, but not be limited to: (A) The name and address of the facility and the resident; (B) a description of the resident's current medical conditions; (C) a complete list of medications prescribed to the resident at the time the discharge plan is prepared; (D) a complete list of the resident's health care providers; (E) a detailed description of the resident's social or emotional conditions that may impact the type of setting in which the resident is placed; and (F) a description of the type of setting that is most appropriate for the resident's placement. The discharge plan shall be marked "confidential" and a copy shall be provided to the resident or the resident's legally liable relative, guardian or conservator. A representative of the facility shall be available for consultation with the resident or the resident's legally liable relative, guardian or conservator concerning the contents of the discharge plan at the time such person is provided with a copy of the discharge plan. The facility's representative shall attempt to obtain the signature of the resident or the resident's legally liable relative, guardian or conservator on the discharge plan to acknowledge (i) receipt of the discharge plan, and (ii) an opportunity for consultation with a representative of the facility concerning such discharge plan.
Sec. 3. Section 19a-527 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
Citations issued pursuant to section 19a-524 for violations of statutory or regulatory requirements shall be classified according to the nature of the violation and shall state such classification and the amount of the civil penalty to be imposed on the face thereof. The Commissioner of Public Health shall, by regulation in accordance with chapter 54, classify violations as follows:
[(a)] (1) Class A violations are conditions that the Commissioner of Public Health determines present an immediate danger of death or serious harm to any patient in the nursing home facility or residential care home. For each class A violation, a civil penalty of not more than [five] ten thousand dollars may be imposed;
[(b)] (2) Class B violations are conditions that the Commissioner of Public Health determines present a probability of death or serious harm in the reasonably foreseeable future to any patient in the nursing home facility or residential care home, but that he or she does not find constitute a class A violation. For each [such] Class B violation, a civil penalty of not more than [three] five thousand dollars may be imposed.
Sec. 4. Section 19a-561 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(a) As used in this section, "nursing facility management services" means services provided in a nursing facility to manage the operations of such facility, including the provision of care and services and "nursing facility management services certificate holder" means a person or entity certified by the Department of Public Health to provide nursing facility management services.
(b) No person or entity shall provide nursing facility management services in this state without obtaining a certificate from the Department of Public Health.
(c) Any person or entity seeking a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall apply to the department, in writing, on a form prescribed by the department. Such application shall include the following:
(1) (A) The name and business address of the applicant and whether the applicant is an individual, partnership, corporation or other legal entity; (B) if the applicant is a partnership, corporation or other legal entity, the names of the officers, directors, trustees, managing and general partners of the applicant, the names of the persons who have a ten per cent or greater beneficial ownership interest in the partnership, corporation or other legal entity, and a description of each such person's relationship to the applicant; (C) if the applicant is a corporation incorporated in another state, a certificate of good standing from the state agency with jurisdiction over corporations in such state; and (D) if the applicant currently provides nursing facility management services in another state, a certificate of good standing from the licensing agency with jurisdiction over public health for each state in which such services are provided;
(2) A description of the applicant's nursing facility management experience;
(3) An affidavit signed by the applicant and any of the persons described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection disclosing any matter in which the applicant or such person (A) has been convicted of an offense classified as a felony under section 53a-25 or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge, or (B) has been held liable or enjoined in a civil action by final judgment, if the felony or civil action involved fraud, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion or misappropriation of property, or (C) is subject to a currently effective injunction or restrictive or remedial order of a court of record at the time of application, or (D) within the [past] five years preceding the date on which such affidavit is signed has had any state or federal license or permit suspended or revoked as a result of an action brought by a governmental agency or department, arising out of or relating to business activity or health care, including, but not limited to, actions affecting the operation of a nursing facility, residential care home or any facility subject to sections 17b-520 to 17b-535, inclusive, or a similar statute in another state or country; and
(4) The location and description of any nursing facility in this state or another state in which the applicant currently provides nursing facility management services or has provided such services within the past five years.
(d) In addition to the information provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the department may reasonably request to review the applicant's audited and certified financial statements, which shall remain the property of the applicant when used for either initial or renewal certification under this section.
(e) Each application for a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall be accompanied by an application fee of three hundred dollars. The certificate shall list each location at which nursing facility management services may be provided by the holder of the certificate.
(f) Each applicant for the issuance of a certificate or, if the applicant is a partnership, corporation or other legal entity, the officers, directors, trustees and managing and general partners, if applicable, of the applicant shall submit to state and national criminal history records checks conducted in accordance with section 29-17a.
[(f)] (g) The department shall base its decision on whether to issue or renew a certificate on the information presented to the department and on the compliance status of the managed entities. The department may deny certification to any applicant for the provision of nursing facility management services (1) at any specific facility or facilities where there has been a substantial failure to comply with the Public Health Code, or (2) if the applicant fails to provide the information required under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, or to submit to state and national criminal history records checks required under subsection (f) of this section.
[(g)] (h) Renewal applications shall be made biennially after (1) submission of the information required by subsection (c) of this section and any other information required by the department pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, and (2) submission of evidence satisfactory to the department that any nursing facility at which the applicant provides nursing facility management services is in substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the Public Health Code and licensing regulations, and (3) payment of a three-hundred-dollar fee.
[(h)] (i) In any case in which the Commissioner of Public Health finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under this section, the commissioner may initiate disciplinary action against a nursing facility management services certificate holder pursuant to section 19a-494. In any case in which the commissioner has initiated disciplinary action against a nursing facility management services certificate holder for failure of a nursing facility under such certificate holder's management to comply with such requirements, such certificate holder may be fined not more than one thousand dollars per day until such time as such nursing facility is in compliance with such requirements.
[(i)] (j) The department may limit or restrict the provision of nursing facility management services by any nursing facility management services certificate holder against whom disciplinary action has been initiated under subsection [(h)] (i) of this section.
[(j)] (k) The department, in implementing the provisions of this section, may conduct any inquiry or investigation, in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-498, regarding an applicant or certificate holder.
[(k)] (l) In any case in which the commissioner finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under this chapter, or regulations adopted thereunder, the commissioner may require the nursing facility licensee and the nursing facility management service certificate holder to jointly submit a plan of correction as described in section 19a-496.
[(l)] (m) Any person or entity providing nursing facility management services without the certificate required under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each day that the services are provided without such certificate.
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2015) Each health care institution, as defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, shall report to the Department of Public Health any major system failures, including, but not limited to, loss of water, loss of heat, loss of electricity and any incident that results in the activation of such institution's emergency response or emergency preparedness plan. Failure to report in accordance with this section immediately upon the activation of such plan may result in the imposition of a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars per day until such time as such institution makes a report.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2015 19a-511
Sec. 2 October 1, 2015 19a-535a(c)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2015 19a-527
Sec. 4 October 1, 2015 19a-561
Sec. 5 October 1, 2015 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2015
19a-511
Sec. 2
October 1, 2015
19a-535a(c)
Sec. 3
October 1, 2015
19a-527
Sec. 4
October 1, 2015
19a-561
Sec. 5
October 1, 2015
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Department of Public Health's recommendations regarding the protection of residents in health care institutions.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]