Section He-P 802.17 - Personnel(a) The licensee shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified staff are present in the facility to meet the needs of patients at all times.(b) For all applicants for employment, for all volunteers, or for all independent contractors who will provide direct care or personal care services to patients, the licensee shall: (1) Obtain and review a criminal records check from the New Hampshire department of safety, except those exempted pursuant to RSA 151:2-d, VI; (2) Review the results of the criminal records check in accordance with (c) below; (3) Verify the qualifications of all applicants prior to employment; and(4) Verify that the applicant is not on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities, maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.(c) Unless a waiver is granted in accordance with He-P 802.10 and(e) below, the licensee shall not employ, contract, or engage an individual if that individual:(1) Has been convicted of any felony in this or any other state; (2) Has been convicted of sexual assault, other violent crime, assault, fraud, theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation in this or any other state; (3) Has had a finding by the department or any administrative agency in this or any other state for assault, fraud, theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation or any person; or(4) Otherwise poses a threat to the health, safety or well-being of patients.(d) If the licensee discovers that an individual meets one of the criteria in (c) above and that individual is already employed, contracted with, or engaged, the licensee shall immediately notify the department and either:(1) Cease employing, contracting with, or engaging the individual; or(2) Request a waiver of (c) above.(e) If a waiver of (c) above is requested, the department shall review the information and the underlying circumstances and shall either: (1) Notify the licensee that the person cannot or can no longer be employed, contracted with, or engaged by the licensee if the department determines that the person poses a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a patient; or(2) Grant a waiver pursuant to He-P 802.10 if the department determines that the person does not pose a current threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a resident(s) .(f) The licensee shall check the names of the persons in (c) above against the bureau of elderly and adult services (BEAS) state registry, maintained pursuant to RSA 161-F:49 and He-E 720, the NH board of nursing, nursing assistant registry, maintained pursuant to RSA 326-B:26 and 42 CFR 483.156, and the medical technician registry, maintained pursuant to RSA 328-I prior to employing, contracting with, or engaging them.(g) The licensee shall: (1) Not employ, contract with, or engage, any person in (b) above who is listed on the BEAS state registry unless a waiver is granted by BEAS; (2) Only employ, contract with, or engage board of nursing licensees who are listed on the nursing assistant registry; and(3) Only employ, contract with, or engage medical technicians who are listed on the medical technician registry.(h) In lieu of (e) and (g) above, the licensee may accept from independent agencies contracted by the licensee or by an individual patient to provide direct care or personal care services a signed statement that the agency's employees have complied with (c) and (f) above and are allowable under (e) and (g) above. (i) Prior to having contact with patients or food, all personnel shall: (1) Receive a tour of the employee's work environment relative to their position; (2) Receive a copy of the job description for his or her position containing: a. Duties and responsibilities of the position;b. Physical requirements of the position; andc. Education and experience requirements of the position; (3) Meet the educational and physical qualifications of the position as listed in their job description; (4) Be licensed, registered, or certified as required by state statute and as applicable; (5) Receive an orientation within the first 3 days of work or prior to the assumption of duties that includes: a. The licensee's policies on rights and responsibilities and complaint procedures as required by RSA 151:20;b. The procedures for food safety for personnel involved in preparation, serving, and storing of food;c. The licensee's infection control program;d. The licensee's fire, evacuation and emergency plans which outline the responsibilities of personnel in an emergency;e. Mandatory reporting requirements for abuse or neglect such as those found in RSA 161-F and RSA 169-C:29; andf. Beginning no later than January 1, 2023, the recognition and management of patients with dementia or delirium, in accordance with the licensee's operational plan developed pursuant to He-P 802.14(e) ;(6) Submit to the licensee the results of a physical examination or a health screening performed by a licensed nurse or a licensed practitioner and the 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; (7) 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; (8) Comply with the requirements of the United States Centers for Disease Control "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of M tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings" (2005 edition), available as noted in Appendix A, if the person has either a positive TB test, or has had direct contact or potential for occupational exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis through shared air space with persons with infectious tuberculosis; and(9) Comply with all public health guidelines with requirements for infectious disease reporting and management.(j) All personnel shall complete a mandatory annual in-service education, which includes a review of the licensee's: (1) Policies and procedures required under He-P 802; (2) Infection control program; (3) Education program on fire and emergency procedures; (4) Mandatory reporting requirements including RSA 161-F:46 and RSA 169-C:29; and(5) Beginning no later than January 1, 2023, plan regarding the recognition and management of patients with dementia or delirium, in accordance with the licensee's operational plan developed pursuant to He-P 802.14(e) .(k) Personnel who have direct contact with patients who have a history of TB or a positive laboratory and antigen testing shall have a symptomatology screen of a TB test.(l) Current and complete personnel files shall be maintained and stored in a secure and confidential manner at the hospital.(m) The licensee shall maintain a separate employee file which shall include, at a minimum, the following: (1) A completed application for employment or a resume; (2) A signed statement acknowledging the receipt of the licensee's policy setting forth the patient's rights and responsibilities, and acknowledging training and implementation of the policy as required by RSA 151:20; (3) A signed and dated job description; (4) A record of satisfactory completion of the orientation program required by (i) (5) above;(5) A copy of each current New Hampshire license, registration, or certification in health care field and CPR certification, if applicable; (6) Documentation that the required physical examination, or health screening, and TB test results or radiology reports of chest x-rays, if required, have been completed by the appropriate health professionals; (7) A record of satisfactory completion of all required education programs and demonstrated competencies that are signed and dated by the employee as required by (j) above; (8) Documentation of any performance reviews conducted; (9) Information as to the general content and length of all continuing education or educational programs attended; (10) A statement, which shall be signed at the time the initial offer of employment, contract, or engagement is made and then annually thereafter, stating that he or she: a. Does not have a felony conviction in this or any other state; b. Has 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 patient in this or any other state; andc. Has 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 in this or any other state;(11) A copy of the results of a criminal records check;(12) Documentation that the individual or entity is not on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities, maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; and(13) The results of the registry check in (f) above.(n) The licensee shall maintain the records, but not necessarily a separate rile, for all volunteers and for all independent contractors who provide direct care or personal care services to patients, as follows: (1) For volunteers, the information in (m) (1), (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12) above; and(2) For independent contractors, the information in (m) (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12), except that the letter in (h) above may be substituted for (m) (11) and (13) .N.H. Admin. Code § He-P 802.17
#5846, eff 6-22-94, EXPIRED: 6-22-00
New. #9580, eff 10-24-09
Amended by Volume XXXVII Number 45, Filed November 09, 2017, Proposed by #12407, Effective 10/24/2017, Expires 4/22/2018.Amended by Volume XLI Number 6, Filed February 11, 2021, Proposed by #13166, Effective 1/28/2021, Expires 1/28/2031.