Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 40 - Professional licensing and facility regulation › Subchapter 10 - Facility regulation › Part 1 - Licensing of Nursing Facilities › Section 216-RICR-40-10-1.5 - General Requirements for Licensure

Current through June 14, 2024
A. No person or
				  governmental unit acting severally or jointly with any other person or
				  governmental unit shall conduct, maintain or operate a or hold itself out as a
				  nursing facility without a license in accordance with the requirements of R.I.
				  Gen. Laws Chapter 23-17.
B. The
				  provisions of this Part, in addition to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws
				  Chapter 23-17, shall apply to all nursing facilities and to all residents
				  housed therein, except that persons caring exclusively for relatives shall be
				  exempted from the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-17 and the
				  requirements herein.
C. Facilities
				  meeting the definition of nursing facilities by virtue of the residence therein
				  of persons who are mentally, physically and/or emotionally dependent on others
				  for fulfilling the requirements of daily life but which do not include primary
				  medical and nursing components shall not be subject to this Part but shall be
				  subject to the requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-17.4 and to Part 2 of
				  this Subchapter, Licensing Assisted Living Residences.
D. Any nursing facility that utilizes latex
				  gloves shall do so in accordance with the provisions of the Rules and
				  Regulations pertaining to Part 20-15-3 of this Title, Use of Latex Gloves by
				  Health Care Workers, in Licensed Health Care Facilities, and by Other Persons,
				  Firms, or Corporations Licensed or Registered by the Department, promulgated by
				  the Department of Health.
E. The
				  nursing facility shall maintain sufficient financial resources to provide
				  adequate staffing and supplies to care for the residents.
1.5.1
Safe Resident Handling
A. Each licensed nursing facility shall
				  comply with the following as a condition of licensure:
1. Each licensed nursing facility shall
				  maintain a safe patient handling committee, which shall be chaired by a
				  professional nurse or other appropriate licensed health care professional. A
				  nursing facility may utilize any appropriately configured committee to perform
				  the responsibilities of this section. At least one half (1/2) of the members of
				  the committee shall be hourly, non-managerial employees who provide direct
				  resident care.
2. The nursing
				  facility shall have a written safe patient handling program, with input from
				  the safe patient handling committee, to prevent musculoskeletal disorders among
				  health care workers and injuries to residents. As part of this program, each
				  licensed nursing facility shall:
a. Implement
				  a safe resident handling policy for all shifts and units of the nursing
				  facility that will achieve the maximum reasonable reduction of manual lifting,
				  transferring, and repositioning of all or most of a resident's weight, except
				  in emergency, life-threatening, or otherwise exceptional
				  circumstances;
b. Conduct a
				  resident handling hazard assessment. This assessment should consider such
				  variables as patient-handling tasks, types of nursing units, resident
				  populations, and the physical environment of resident care areas;
c. Develop a process to identify the
				  appropriate use of the safe resident handling policy based on the resident's
				  physical and mental condition, the resident's choice, and the availability of
				  lifting equipment or lift teams. The policy shall include a means to address
				  circumstances under which it would be medically contraindicated to use lifting
				  or transfer aids or assistive devices for particular residents;
d. Designate and train a registered nurse or
				  other appropriate licensed health care professional to serve as an expert
				  resource, and train all clinical staff on safe resident handling policies,
				  equipment, and devices before implementation, and at least annually or as
				  changes are made to the safe patient handling policies, equipment and/or
				  devices being used;
e. Conduct an
				  annual performance evaluation of the safe resident handling with the results of
				  the evaluation reported to the safe resident handling committee or other
				  appropriately designated committee. The evaluation shall determine the extent
				  to which implementation of the program has resulted in a reduction in
				  musculoskeletal disorder claims and days of lost work attributable to
				  musculoskeletal disorder caused by resident handling, and include
				  recommendations to increase the program's effectiveness; and
f. Submit an annual report to the safe
				  resident handling committee of the nursing facility, which shall be made
				  available to the public upon request, on activities related to the
				  identification, assessment, development, and evaluation of strategies to
				  control risk of injury to patients, nurses, and other health care workers
				  associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning, or movement of a
				  resident.
4. Nothing in
				  §
												1.5.1   of this Part precludes lift team members from performing other
				  duties as assigned during their shift.
5. An employee may, in accordance with
				  established facility protocols, report to the committee, as soon as possible,
				  after being required to perform a resident handling activity that he or she
				  believes in good faith exposed the resident and/or employee to an unacceptable
				  risk of injury. Such employee reporting shall not be cause for discipline or be
				  subject to other adverse consequences by his or her employer. These reportable
				  incidents shall be included in the facility's annual performance
				  evaluation.