Section He-P 807.18 - Personnel(a) The licensee shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified personnel are present in the RTRF to meet the needs of clients at all times.(b) There shall be at least one awake personnel member on duty at all times while clients are in the facility.(c) The licensee shall develop a job description for each position in the RTRF containing: (2) Duties of the position; (3) Physical requirements of the position; and (4) Qualifications and educational requirements of the position.(d) For all applicants for employment, volunteers, and independent contractors who will provide direct care or personal care services to clients or who will be unaccompanied by an employee while performing non-direct care or non-personal care services within the facility, the licensee shall: (1) Obtain and review a criminal records check from the New Hampshire department of safety, except, pursuant to RSA 151:2-d; (2) Review the results of the criminal records check in accordance with (e) below;(3) Verify the qualifications of all applicants prior to employment; (4) Verify that the applicant is not listed on the BEAS state registry maintained by the department's bureau of elderly and adult services in accordance with RSA 161-F:49; and(5) Verify the applicant is licensed, registered, or certified if required by state statute.(e) Unless a waiver is granted in accordance with (g) below, the licensee shall not offer employment, contract with, or otherwise engage a person in (d) above if the person: (1) Has been convicted of a felony in this or any other state;(2) Has been convicted for sexual assault, other violent crime, assault, fraud, theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation in this or any other state; (3) Has been found by the department or any administrative agency in this or any other state for assault, fraud, theft, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of any person; or(4) Otherwise poses a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of the clients.(f) If the information identified in (e) above regarding any person subject to (d) above is learned after the person is hired, contracted with, or engaged with, the licensee shall immediately notify the department and either:(1) Cease employing, contracting with, or engaging the person; or(2) Request a waiver of (d) above.(g) If a waiver of (d) above is requested, the department shall review the information and the underlying circumstances in (d) above and shall either: (1) Notify the licensee that the person shall not or no longer shall be employed, contracted with, or engaged by the licensee, or the person shall not or no longer shall reside in the facility if, after investigation, it determines that the person poses a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a client; or(2) Grant a waiver of (d) above if, after investigation, it determines that the person does not pose a current threat to the health, safety, or well-being of a client(s) .(h) The licensee shall: (1) Not employ, contract with, or engage any person in (d) above who is listed on the BEAS state registry unless a waiver is granted by BEAS; and(2) Only employ, contract with, or engage board of nursing licensees who are listed on the nursing assistant registry or licensing site with the NH board of nursing or are licensed with a reciprocal multi-compact state.(i) In lieu of (d) and (g), 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 (d) and (g) and do not meet the criteria in (e) and (g) .(j) The waiver in (g) (2) above shall be permanent for as long as the individual remains in the same job unless additional convictions or findings under (e) above occur. (k) Administrators shall be at least 21 years of age and have a minimum of one of the following combinations of education and experience: (1) A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and one year of relevant experience working in a health related field;(2) A New Hampshire license as an RN, with at least one year relevant experience working in a health related field; or(3) An associate's degree from an accredited institution plus 3 years relevant experience in a health related field.(l) All administrators shall obtain and document in accordance with (s) (7) and (s) (8) below, 12 hours of continuing education related to the operation and services of the RTRF each annual licensing period.(m) All personnel shall be at least 18 years of age if working as direct care personnel unless they are: (1) A licensed nursing assistant working under the supervision of a nurse in accordance with Nur 700; or(2) Involved in an established educational program working under the supervision of licensed staff.(n) The licensee shall inform personnel of the line of authority at the RTRF.(o) Prior to having contact with clients or food, personnel shall: (1) 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;(2) 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; and(3) Comply with the requirements of the Centers for Disease Control "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of s 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 M. tuberculosis through shared air space with persons with infectious tuberculosis. (p) In lieu of (o) (1) above, independent agencies contracted by the facility or by an individual client to provide direct care or personal care services may provide the licensee with a signed statement that its employees have complied with (o) (1) and (3) above before working at the RTRF.(q) Prior to having contact with clients or food, personnel shall receive a tour of the RTRF and an orientation that explains the following: (1) The clients' rights in accordance with RSA 151:20;(2) The RTRF's complaint procedures;(3) The duties and responsibilities of the position;(4) The medical emergency procedures;(5) The emergency and evacuation procedures;(6) The infection control procedures as required by He-P 807.21;(7) The facility confidentiality requirements;(8) Grievance procedures for both staff and clients;(9) The procedures for food safety for personnel involved in preparation, serving and storing of food; and(10) The mandatory reporting requirements including RSA 161-F:46 and RSA 169-C:29. (q) The licensee shall provide all personnel with an annual continuing education or in-service education training, which at a minimum contains the following: (1) The licensee's client's rights and complaint procedures required under RSA 151;(2) The licensee's infection control program; (3) The licensee's written emergency plan;(4) The licensee's policies and procedures; and(5) The mandatory reporting requirements including RSA 161-F:46 and RSA 169-C:29.(r) The licensee shall provide an annual review of its policies and procedures for self-administration of medication, self-administration of medication with supervision, and self-directed medication administration to all direct care personnel, as applicable.(s) The RTRF shall maintain a separate employee file for each employee, which shall include the following:(1) A completed application for employment or a resume;(2) Proof that the individual meets the minimum age requirements;(3) A statement signed by each individual that he or she has received a copy of and received training on the implementation of the licensee's policy setting forth the clients rights and responsibilities as required by RSA 151:21;(4) A copy of the results of the criminal record check as described in (d) above;(5) A job description signed by the individual that identifies the: b. Qualifications and experience; andc. Duties required by the position;(6) Record of satisfactory completion of the orientation program required by (q) above;(7) Information as to the general content and length of all in-service or educational programs attended;(8) Record of satisfactory completion of all required education programs required above;(9) A copy of a current, valid driver's license, including proof of insurance, if the employee transports clients;(10) Documentation that the required physical examinations, health screenings, TB test results, and radiology reports of chest x-rays, if required, have been completed by the appropriate health professionals; (11) The statement required by (u) below; and(12) The results of the registry checks in (h) above(t) The RTRF shall maintain the records, but not necessarily a separate file, for all volunteers and for all independent contractors who provide direct care or personal care services to clients or who will be unaccompanied by an employee while performing non-direct care or non-personal care services within the facility, as follows: (1) For volunteers, the information in (s) (1), (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12) above; and(2) For independent contractors, the information in (s) (3), (4), (6), and (8) -(12) above, except that the letter in (h) and (o) above may be substituted for (s) (4), (10), and (12) above, if applicable.(u) All personnel shall sign a statement at the time the initial offer of employment is made and then annually thereafter stating that they: (1) Do not have a felony conviction in this or any other state;(2) Have 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 client; or (3) Have 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.(v) An individual shall not have to re-disclose any of the matters in (u) above if the documentation is available and the department has previously reviewed the material and determined that the individual can continue employment, contract, or engagement.(w) An individual shall disclose any new convictions, as soon as practicable, to the facility administrator. Any such convictions shall be reported to the department for review. (x) The licensee shall protect and store in a secure and confidential manner all records described in (s) and (t) above.(y) The licensee shall document evidence of immunization against influenza and pneumococcal disease for all consenting employees and shall provide to its consenting employees annual immunizations against influenza, to include: (1) That immunizations shall be provided and reported in accordance with RSA 151:9-b, I-V; and(2) The facility shall have a plan that identifies and documents, with dates, employees that have received or declined to receive immunizations.(z) Personnel shall not be impaired while on the job by any substances including, but not limited to, legally prescribed medication, therapeutic cannabis, or alcohol. (aa) The RTRF shall have a written policy, as described in RSA 151:41, establishing procedures for the prevention, detection, and resolution of controlled substance misuse, and diversion, which shall apply to all personnel, and which shall be the responsibility of a designated employee or interdisciplinary team.(ab) The policy in (aa) above shall include provisions relating to the following: (2) Procedures for monitoring the distribution and storage of controlled substances;(3) Procedures for voluntary self-referral by employees who are misusing substances;(4) Co-worker reporting procedures;(5) Drug testing procedures to include at a minimum, testing where reasonable suspicion of misuse or diversion by personnel exists;(6) Employee assistance procedures;(7) Confidentiality of investigations, reports, and resolutions of controlled drug misuse or diversion;(8) Investigation, reporting, and resolution of controlled drug misuse or diversion; and(9) The consequences for violation of the controlled substance misuse, and diversion prevention policy.N.H. Admin. Code § He-P 807.18
Amended by Volume XXXIX Number 10, Filed March 7, 2019, Proposed by #12727, Effective 2/20/2019, Expires 8/19/2019.Derived from Volume XL Number 2, Filed January 9, 2020, Proposed by #12962, Effective 12/31/2019, Expires 12/31/2029.