Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB2142%20intr.htm&yr=2012&sesstype=RS&i=2142
Timestamp: 2018-02-19 02:09:39
Document Index: 429065695

Matched Legal Cases: ['§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16']

(By Delegates Hatfield and Perdue)
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto seven new sections, designated §16-5C-21, §16-5C-22, §16-5C-23, §16-5C-24, §16-5C-25, §16-5C-26 and §16-5C-27, all relating to nursing homes; requiring adequate staffing, specifying certain staff to resident ratios; providing enforcement provisions; including civil penalties; requiring a study committee; providing enhanced training requirements for nurse aides; and providing a grant program for projects aimed at reducing employee turnover in nursing homes.
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto seven new sections, designated §16-5C-21, §16-5C-22, §16-5C-23, §16-5C-24, §16-5C-25, §16-5C-26 and §16-5C-27, all to read as follows:
§16-5C-21. Legislative findings.
(3) Nursing homes which receive public money should be required to provide at all times staffing resources to meet the minimum levels necessary to provide quality care to each resident; and
§16-5C-22. Definitions and scope.
(a) For purposes of sections twenty-one through twenty-seven of this article:
(1) “Licensed personnel” means registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses.
(2) “Direct caregivers” means certified nurse assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered professional nurses.
(b) The minimum standards and ratios provided in section twenty-three of this article apply to all residents, regardless of their payment source. No waiver of these standards is allowed.
(c) A long-term care facility shall maintain a ratio of licensed personnel to residents of no less than:
(d) A long-term facility shall maintain a ratio of direct caregivers to residents of no less than:
(e) An employee designated as a member of the nursing staff may not provide services which include food preparation, housekeeping, laundry or maintenance services. A person employed to provide services which include food preparation, housekeeping, laundry or maintenance services may not provide nursing care to residents and may not be counted in determining ratios pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(f) The ratios outlined in this section are minimum standards only. Nursing homes shall employ additional staff if needed to ensure quality resident care.
§16-5C-23. Study committee.
(a) Beginning July 1, 2011, and every five years after that, the Joint Committee on Government and Finance shall appoint a committee that shall at a minimum, include consumers or their advocates, or both, workers or their representatives, or both, and providers. The committee shall conduct a study to assess whether the staffing ratios and standards outlined in this article are sufficient to meet residents’ needs. If the staffing ratios and standards are insufficient, the committee shall make recommendations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance on how the ratios should be adjusted.
§16-5C-24. Disclosure; public right to staffing information.
(b) The information shall be posted for the most recently concluded cost reporting period in the form of average daily staffing ratios for that period. This information must be posted in a manner visible and accessible to all residents, their families, caregivers and potential consumers in each facility. A poster provided by the director which will describe the minimum staffing standards and ratios shall be posted in the same vicinity.
§16-5C-25. Enforcement; civil penalties.
(a) The director shall impose a civil monetary penalty upon any facility that fails to meet the staffing requirements of this article. The penalty shall be imposed for each day on which the failure occurs.
(1) Penalties from $3,050 to $10,000 per day shall be imposed for deficiencies in staffing which constitute immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety and for repeat deficiencies when a monetary penalty has been previously imposed.
(2) Penalties from $50 to $3,000 per day shall be imposed for deficiencies in staffing which do not constitute immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.
(c) In addition to the penalty set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, in any action brought by or on behalf of a resident of the facility, his or her heirs or assigns, for intentional or negligent infliction of harm or lack of adequate care, it shall be established that a failure to meet the staffing requirements of this article was a contributory cause of any injury sustained by the resident.
(d) The director shall impose a civil monetary penalty upon any facility that fails to meet the posting requirements in section twenty-four of this article. The penalty is $1,000 for each day the facility failed to meet fully the posting requirements.
§16-5C-26. Nurse aide training requirements.
(1) Federal regulations established by the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1987 require that certified nurse aides in nursing homes complete a minimum of seventy-five hours of training. Since 1987, the nursing home population has changed dramatically. Residents now have much higher acuity levels than in the past and many more have dementia. As a result, the job responsibilities of certified nurse aides are increasingly complex. Experts agree the training requirements are not sufficient to prepare certified nurse aides to serve this changed population. Many states have instituted training requirements for certified nurse more stringent than the federal seventy-five hour requirement.
(3) To protect West Virginia residents, the state should increase the amount of training required, improve the training curriculum, and establish a competitive grant program to encourage innovative programs to reduce turnover.
§16-5C-27. Grants for employee retention programs.
(B) Establish specialized training programs above and beyond the one hundred and sixty hour requirement;
(b) (1) The secretary shall appoint a volunteer advisory council to review applications and make recommendations to the secretary as to which should be funded. At a minimum the council shall be composed of individuals appointed to represent:
(D) Nonprofit or public organizations specializing in workforce development.
(2) The application must illustrate that the proposal has been developed in consultation with and approved by nursing facility management, consumer and worker representatives in the facility or facilities it is intended to be implemented.