Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 40 - Professional licensing and facility regulation › Subchapter 05 - Professional Licensing › Part 22 - Nursing Assistants, Medication Aides, and the Approval of Nursing Assistant and Medication Aide Training Programs › Section 216-RICR-40-05-22.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in these Rules and
				  Regulations the following terms shall be construed as follows:
1. "Abuse" means any assault or battery as
				  defined in R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  11-5, R.I. Gen. Laws §
											11-37-1, or any conduct which
				  harms or is likely to harm a patient, or intentionally engaging in a pattern of
				  harassing conduct which causes or is likely to cause emotional or psychological
				  harm to the patient, including, but not limited to, ridiculing or demeaning a
				  patient, making derogatory remarks to a patient, cursing directed towards a
				  patient, and threatening to inflict physical or emotional harm on a patient,
				  except when the conduct is a part of the care and treatment and in furtherance
				  of the health and safety of the patient.
2. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  23-17.9.
3. "Adult day services program" means a
				  community-based group program, licensed by the Department in accordance with
				  the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-1-52, designed to meet the
				  biopsychosocial needs of adults with impairments through individual plans of
				  care.
4. "Approval" means the
				  process whereby the Director or designee evaluates and grants official
				  recognition to a nursing assistant or medication aide training program based on
				  the requirements of this Part.
5.
				  "Assisted living residence" means a publicly or privately operated residence
				  licensed under the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 2317.4.
6. "Complicated feeding" means the feeding of
				  patients with complex medical needs and the feeding of patients that require
				  feeding tubes or parenteral/intravenous feedings.
7. "Department" means the Rhode Island
				  Department of Health.
8. "Director"
				  means the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health or
				  designee.
9. "Health care facility"
				  means a provider as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §23
				  17-2(9).
10. "Long term care services" means a set of
				  health care, personal care and social services required by persons who lack
				  some degree of functional capacity (e.g., chronically ill, aged, disabled), who
				  are living in an institution on a long-term basis or at home. The term may
				  refer to longterm institutional care such as care provided in nursing homes,
				  adult day care services, and assisted living residences, or to ambulatory
				  services such as home health care.
11. "Medication aide" means a nursing
				  assistant who has had additional training in the administration of medications
				  and is licensed with the Department as a medication aide.
12. "Medication aide training program" means
				  an organized course of classroom instruction and clinical training, approved by
				  the Director, designed to prepare individuals to function as assistants to
				  licensed nurses in the administration of medication.
13. "Medication aide exam" means an
				  examination approved by the Director that tests the ability of a person to
				  perform the skills and exercise the judgment necessary to carry out the duties
				  of a medication aide.
14. "Neglect"
				  means the intentional failure to provide treatment, care, goods and services
				  necessary to maintain the health and safety of a patient, or the intentional
				  failure to carry out a plan of treatment or care prescribed by a patient's
				  physician, or the intentional failure to report a patient's health problems or
				  changes in health conditions to an immediate supervisor or licensed nurse, or
				  the intentional lack of attention to the physical needs of a patient including,
				  but not limited to, toileting, bathing, meals, and safety. Provided, however,
				  no person shall be considered neglected for the sole reason that he or she
				  relies on or is being furnished with treatment in accordance with the tenets
				  and teachings of a well-recognized church or denomination by a duly-accredited
				  practitioner thereof.
15. "Nursing
				  assistant" means a paraprofessional who holds a Rhode Island license pursuant
				  to the provisions of the Act and this Part, and who is trained to give personal
				  care and related health care and assistance based on his or her level of
				  preparation to individuals who are sick, disabled, dependent, or infirm, and
				  who are patients at or are receiving services from health care facilities or
				  agencies.
16. "Nursing assistant
				  examination" means an examination approved by the Director that includes a
				  written and practical component that tests the ability of a person to perform
				  the skills and exercise the judgment that is necessary to carry out the duties
				  of a nursing assistant as defined in these Regulations.
17. "Nursing assistant training program"
				  means an organized course of classroom instruction and practical training,
				  approved by the Director, designed to prepare individuals to function as
				  nursing assistants.
18. "Nursing
				  service agency" means any person, firm, partnership or corporation doing
				  business within the State of Rhode Island that supplies, on a temporary basis,
				  licensed nursing assistants to a hospital, nursing home, private home, or other
				  health care facility licensed under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  23-17.7.1 and the Rules and
				  Regulations for Licensing Nursing Service Agencies (Subchapter 10 Part 10 of
				  this Chapter).
19. "Online nursing
				  assistant training program" means a training program, approved by the
				  Department, that offers courses using web conferencing and other e-learning
				  media to provide access to a classroom experience for students at an off-campus
				  location.
20. "Patient" means
				  client and resident.
21. "Registry"
				  means the Department's licensure database that provides a mechanism to verify
				  the status of a nursing assistant's license.
22. "Supervision" means the provision of
				  guidance for the accomplishment of a nursing assistant activity by a supervisor
				  who is a nurse, physician, or other appropriate health professional who is duly
				  licensed and/or certified as required by law.
a. "Direct supervision" means supervision
				  provided by a supervisor who is and remains on the premises, in the building,
				  while the nursing assistant is performing his or her duties, and evaluates the
				  performance of the nursing assistant and medication aide.
b. "Indirect supervision" means supervision
				  provided by a supervisor who is not on the premises while the nursing assistant
				  is performing his or her duties, but who is responsible for the assignment of
				  duties and evaluation of the performance of the nursing
				  assistant.