Section 333.21720a - Director of nursing; nursing personnel; effective date of subsection (1); natural disaster or other emergency(1) A nursing home shall not be licensed under this part unless that nursing home has on its staff at least 1 registered nurse with specialized training or relevant experience in the area of gerontology, who shall serve as the director of nursing and who shall be responsible for planning and directing nursing care. The nursing home shall have at least 1 licensed nurse on duty at all times and shall employ additional registered and licensed practical nurses in accordance with subsection (2). This subsection shall not take effect until January 1, 1980.(2) A nursing home shall employ nursing personnel sufficient to provide continuous 24-hour nursing care and services sufficient to meet the needs of each patient in the nursing home. Nursing personnel employed in the nursing home shall be under the supervision of the director of nursing. A licensee shall maintain a nursing home staff sufficient to provide not less than 2.25 hours of nursing care by employed nursing care personnel per patient per day. The ratio of patients to nursing care personnel during a morning shift shall not exceed 8 patients to 1 nursing care personnel; the ratio of patients to nursing care personnel during an afternoon shift shall not exceed 12 patients to 1 nursing care personnel; and the ratio of patients to nursing care personnel during a nighttime shift shall not exceed 15 patients to 1 nursing care personnel and there shall be sufficient nursing care personnel available on duty to assure coverage for patients at all times during the shift. An employee designated as a member of the nursing staff shall not be engaged in providing basic services such as food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, or maintenance services, except in an instance of natural disaster or other emergency reported to and concurred in by the department. In a nursing home having 30 or more beds, the director of nursing shall not be included in counting the minimum ratios of nursing personnel required by this subsection.(3) In administering this section, the department shall take into consideration a natural disaster or other emergency.Add. 1978, Act 493, Eff. 3/30/1979 .