Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 048 - Health, Department of › Sub-Agency 0003 - Aging Division › Chapter 9 - PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION OF HOME HEALTH AGENCIES › Section 9-5 - Organization and Administration

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) Governing Body.
				The home health agency shall have a governing body which has legal authority
				and responsibility to operate the home health agency. The governing body shall:
(i) Obtain a fidelity bond for client
				protection arising from the want of honesty, integrity or fidelity of any
				employee. The bond shall consist of no less than $2500 and shall be augmented
				in relation to the number of employees.
(ii) Provide verification of a central
				registry check on all employees hired at the time of, or after, the filing of
				these rules. The individual, agencies or corporations are responsible to
				initiate and follow this process to completion.
Central Registry information can be obtained by contacting
				  the Department of Family Services at307-777-5894. (This number may be subject
				  to change.)
(iii) Adopt,
				revise, and approve personnel policies; including;
(A) Frequency and content of evaluations;
				and
(B) Assurance of
				confidentiality of information obtained from the Central Registry.
(iv) Prepare an organizational
				chart that reflects the administrative control and lines of authority for the
				delegation of responsibility from management down to the client
				level.
(v) Appoint a qualified
				administrator who is designated in writing as responsible and available for all
				aspects of agency operation.
(A) A qualified
				administrator is:
(I) A licensed physician,
				registered nurse, or college graduate with a bachelors degree who has a minimum
				of three (3) years of health care management experience; or
(II) A person without a college degree may
				qualify by obtaining and documenting the equivalent of six (6) years of
				supervisory experience in health care management.
(B) The administrator and supervisory nurse
				may be the same individual if the individual is dually qualified.
(C) The administrator must identify in
				writing an individual who is qualified and authorized to act on behalf of the
				administrator when the administrator is not available.
(vi) Employ a supervisory nurse who is a
				registered nurse and who has at least one (1) year home health experience. The
				supervisory nurse must be available during the normal hours of operation. In
				lieu of the one (1) year home health experience requirement, a consultation
				agreement shall suffice when the agreement:
(A) Is in writing and signed by all parties
				involved;
(B) Enables the
				supervisory nurse to have immediate contact, seven (7) days a week, twenty-four
				(24) hours per day with a registered nurse who has at least one (1) year of
				home health experience;
(C) Remains
				in effect until the supervisory nurse has gained one (1) year of home health
				experience; and
(D) Requires the
				consultations to be documented and on file at the location of the supervisory
				nurse.
(vii) Develop an
				effective, ongoing, agency-wide, written quality management program which
				ensures and evaluates quality of care provided to all clients in accordance
				with W.S. §
										
											35-2-910.
(viii) Grievance Procedure.
(A) The written grievance procedure shall
				establish a system of reviewing complaints and allegations of clients' rights
				violations to include, but not be limited to:
(I) Client method to voice
				grievances;
(II) Documentation of
				the home health agencys response to verbal and written client
				grievances;
(III) List of
				appropriate agencies, with addresses and telephone numbers for clients to
				contact if grievances are not addressed satisfactorily; and
(IV) Written reports of all unresolved
				grievances shall be provided to the Licensing Division within ten (10) days
				after the grievance is filed with the home health agency. (If the ten (10) day
				requirement cannot be met the Licensing Division should be
				contacted.)
(V) Resolved grievances
				and the resolutions shall be kept on file in the agency office.
(ix) Complaint
				Investigations.
(A) Clients' complaints and
				problems shall be referred in writing to the State Long Term Care
				Ombudsman.
(B) The Office of the
				Ombudsman shall complete all complaint investigations within an appropriate
				time frame depending upon the seriousness of the allegations.
(C) Written reports of investigations and the
				status of resolutions completed by the home health agency shall be provided by
				the State Long Term Care Ombudsman to the Licensing Division, within thirty
				(30) days after the completion of the investigation.
Exception
: Those complaints or
				  problems reported directly to the State Survey Agency or referred by the State
				  Long Term Care Ombudsman to the State Survey Agency shall be investigated by
				  the State Survey Agency as per the Agreement between the Secretary of the U.S.
				  Department of Health and Human Services and the State of Wyoming dated June 18,
				  1985.
(x)
				Employee Personnel Records.
(A) There shall
				be one (1) person designated responsible for maintaining
				confidentiality.
(xi)
				Employee Health.
(A) The home health agency
				shall develop policies and procedures for employee health including a policy
				that identifies communicable diseases that could put the client population at
				risk.
(B) The home health agency
				must document that the employee is free of communicable diseases that could be
				a risk to the client population.
(xii) Advanced Directives.
(A) The home health agency shall adopt
				policies which assure that it provides information on advanced directives to
				clients. If the clients advanced directives are known, they shall be followed
				by the home health agency.
(xiii) Clients' Rights.
(A) A home health client has the right to:
(I) Be treated with dignity, consideration
				and respect.
(II) Have his/her
				property treated with respect,
(III) Receive a timely response to his/her
				request for service.
(IV) Be fully
				informed upon admission of the care and treatment that will be provided, how
				much it will cost, and how payment will be handled.
(V) Be informed in advance of any changes in
				care to be furnished.
(VI) Be
				informed in advance if he/she will be responsible for any payment.
(VII) Receive care from professionally
				trained personnel. Be informed of the names and responsibilities of care
				providers, and to have the right of choice in care providers.
(VIII) Participate in designing a care plan,
				and periodically updating it as his/her condition changes. Refuse treatment and
				to be told the consequences of his/her actions.
(IX) Expect confidentiality of all
				information related to his/her care, within required regulations.
(X) Be informed within a reasonable time of
				anticipated termination of service. Be referred elsewhere, if he/she is denied
				services based solely on his/her ability to pay.
(XI) Authorize discontinuation of treatment
				which will be respected in accordance with the home health agencys
				policy.
(XII) Know how to make a
				complaint or grievance or recommend changes in agency policies and services,
				and have the freedom to do so.
(XIII) Call the home health agency
				administration during regular office hours.
(XIV) Call a home health hotline number as
				provided by the provider.
(xiv) Notification.
(A) Prior to admission all prospective
				clients shall be notified if the home health agency is not Medicare and/or
				Medicaid certified.
(B) The
				responsible party shall be notified of the service charges at the time of
				admission and notified of changes in the charges at least thirty (30) days in
				advance of the changes.