N.J. Admin. Code § 8:37-4.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 8:37-4.2 - Discharge criteria

(a) The dementia care home shall set forth the criteria for discharge in the admission agreement that it enters into with the resident or the resident's responsible person prior to or upon admission.

(b) A resident shall be transferred from a dementia care home to a facility that offers a higher level of care if the resident exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

1. The resident is consistently and totally dependent in eating and toileting.

i. "Consistently and totally dependent in eating" means being unable to swallow and/or requiring a feeding tube.

ii. "Consistently and totally dependent in toileting" means requiring a colostomy bag and/or catheter;

2. The resident is unable to self-administer medications (oral, topical, injectable) even when monitored; provided, however, that residents who are unable to self-administer medication shall be permitted to remain in the facility, provided medication management is provided by a licensed healthcare professional, who is acting within the scope of that person's license;

3. The resident requires treatment of a stage two, three, or four pressure sore;

4. The resident exhibits behaviors and/or has cognitive impairments of such severity as to be a danger to self or others;

5. The resident is in need of a therapeutic diet that cannot be accommodated at the dementia care home and requires nursing monitoring.

i. Examples of prescribed therapeutic diets that would necessitate a transfer of the resident to a facility that could provide a higher level of care are diets that require blood sugar monitoring, monitoring of food and fluid intake, and monitoring of skin integrity and possible dehydration;

6. The resident is bed bound or requires repositioning due to his or her disease progression or due to a medically disabling condition;

7. The resident requires skilled nursing care 24-hours a day, seven days a week;

8. The resident requires more than "assistance with transfer"; or

9. The resident has a medically unstable condition and/or has special health problems and the necessary therapy regimen for care and/or treatment cannot be appropriately developed and implemented in the dementia care home environment.

(c) The Commissioner may revoke the license of any provider who violates the criteria for discharging residents.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:37-4.2

Adopted by 49 N.J.R. 461(a), effective 2/7/2017