New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 27A - STANDARDS FOR LICENSURE OF RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES NOT LOCATED WITH, AND OPERATED BY, LICENSED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES › Appendix C

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PET FACILITATED THERAPY IN NEW JERSEY
				INSTITUTIONS
I. All Pets
A. Companion pets should not pose a threat or
			 nuisance to the patients, staff, or visitors because of size, odor, sound,
			 disposition, or behavioral characteristics. Aggressive or unprovoked threatening
			 behavior should mandate the pet's immediate removal.
B. Animals which may be approved include: dogs,
			 cats, birds (except carnivorous), fish, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and domestic
			 rabbits. Wild animals such as turtles and other reptiles, ferrets, and carnivorous
			 birds should not be permitted in the program.
C. In order to participate, dogs or cats should be
			 either altered or determined not to be in estrus ("heat").
D. Sanitary constraints:
1. Pets should be prohibited from the following
			 areas:
a. Food preparation, storage, and serving
			 areas, with the exception of participating resident's bedroom;
b. Areas used for the cleaning or storage of human
			 food utensils and dishes;
c. Vehicles
			 used for the transportation of prepared food;
d. Nursing stations, drug preparation areas,
			 sterile and clean supply rooms;
e. Linen
			 storage areas; and
f. Areas where soiled
			 or contaminated materials are stored.
2. Food handlers should not be involved in the
			 cleanup of animal waste.
3. The
			 administrator should be responsible for acceptable pet husbandry practices and may
			 delegate specific duties to any other staff members except food handlers. The areas
			 of responsibility include: feeding and watering, food cleanup/cage cleaning,
			 exercising, and grooming.
4. Spilling or
			 scattering of food and water should not lessen the standard of housekeeping or
			 contribute to an increase in vermin or objectionable odor.
5. Dogs and cats should be effectively housebroken
			 and provisions should be made for suitably disposing of their body wastes.
6. Animal waste should be disposed of in a manner
			 which prevents the material from becoming a community health or nuisance problem and
			 in accordance with applicable sanitation rules and ordinances. Accepted methods
			 include disposal in sealed plastic bags (utilizing municipally approved trash
			 removal systems) or via the sewage system for feces.
7. Proper and frequent handwashing should be a
			 consideration of all persons handling animals.
E. Animals found to be infested with external
			 parasites (ticks, fleas, or lice) or which show signs of illness (for example,
			 vomiting or diarrhea) should be immediately removed from the premises and taken to
			 the facility's veterinarian.
F. The
			 parent or guardian of a child bitten by a dog, cat, or other animal, when no
			 physician attends such child, should within 12 hours after first having knowledge
			 that the child was so bitten, report to the person designated by law or by the local
			 board, under authority of law, to receive reports of reportable communicable
			 diseases in the municipality in which the child so bitten may be the name, age, sex,
			 color, and precise location of the child (26:4-80
			 ).
If an adult is bitten by a dog, cat, or other animal and no
				physician attends him, the adult, or, if he is incapacitated, the person caring for
				him, should report to the person designated by law or by the local board of health
				to receive reports of communicable diseases in the municipality in which the adult
				so bitten may be the name, age, sex, color, and the precise location of the adult.
				The report should be made within 12 hours after the adult was so bitten, or if he is
				incapacitated, the report shall be made within 12 hours after the person caring for
				him shall first have knowledge that the adult was so bitten (26:4-81 ).
G. The local health department should be promptly
			 notified by telephone of any pet which dies on the premises.
1. If the deceased is a bird, the body should be
			 immediately taken to the facility's veterinarian. If the veterinarian is not
			 available, the deceased bird should be securely wrapped in impermeable wrapping
			 material and frozen until veterinary consultation is available. Payment for a
			 laboratory examination should be the responsibility of the institution, or the pet's
			 owner.
2. If the deceased is another
			 type of animal, the body should not be disposed of until it is determined by the
			 local department of health that rabies testing is not necessary.
H. The rights of residents who do not
			 wish to participate in the pet program should be considered first. Patients not
			 wishing to be exposed to animals should have available a pet free area within the
			 participating facility.