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Text: HF00667                           Text: HF00669
Text: HF00600 - HF00699                 Text: HF Index
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House File 668

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 135C.33, Code 1997, is amended to read
  1  2 as follows:
  1  3    135C.33  CHILD OR DEPENDENT ADULT ABUSE INFORMATION AND
  1  4 CRIMINAL RECORDS –EVALUATIONS.
  1  5    1.  On or after July 1, 1994 1997, with regard to new
  1  6 applicants for licensure or employment, if a person is being
  1  7 considered for licensure under this chapter, or for employment
  1  8 involving direct responsibility for a resident or with access
  1  9 to a resident when the resident is alone, or if the person
  1 10 considered for licensure or employment under this chapter will
  1 11 reside in by a facility, the facility may shall request that
  1 12 the department of human services inspections and appeals
  1 13 conduct criminal and child and dependent adult abuse record
  1 14 checks in this state and.  In addition, the department of
  1 15 inspections and appeals may perform the records checks in
  1 16 other states, on a random basis.  Beginning July 1, 1994 1997,
  1 17 a facility shall inform all new applicants for employment of
  1 18 the possibility of the performance of a record check the
  1 19 records checks and shall obtain, from the applicant, a signed
  1 20 acknowledgment of the receipt of the information.
  1 21 Additionally, on or after July 1, 1994, a facility shall
  1 22 include the following inquiry in an application for
  1 23 employment:  "Do you have a record of founded child or
  1 24 dependent adult abuse or have you ever been convicted of a
  1 25 crime, in this state or any other state?"  If the person has
  1 26 been convicted of a crime under a law of any state or has a
  1 27 record of founded child or dependent adult abuse, the
  1 28 department of human services shall perform an evaluation to
  1 29 determine whether the crime or founded child or dependent
  1 30 adult abuse warrants prohibition of licensure, employment, or
  1 31 residence in by the facility.  The evaluation shall be
  1 32 performed in accordance with procedures adopted for this
  1 33 purpose by the department of human services.
  1 34    2.  If the department of human services inspections and
  1 35 appeals determines that a person has committed a crime or has
  2  1 a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse and is
  2  2 licensed, employed by a facility licensed under this chapter,
  2  3 or resides in a licensed facility, the department shall notify
  2  4 the licensee that an evaluation will be conducted by the
  2  5 department of human services to determine whether prohibition
  2  6 of the person's licensure, employment, or residence is
  2  7 warranted.
  2  8    3.  In an evaluation, the department of human services
  2  9 shall consider the nature and seriousness of the crime or
  2 10 founded child or dependent adult abuse in relation to the
  2 11 position sought or held, the time elapsed since the commission
  2 12 of the crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse, the
  2 13 circumstances under which the crime or founded child or
  2 14 dependent adult abuse was committed, the degree of
  2 15 rehabilitation, the likelihood that the person will commit the
  2 16 crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse again, and the
  2 17 number of crimes or founded child or dependent adult abuses
  2 18 committed by the person involved.  The department of human
  2 19 services has final authority in determining whether
  2 20 prohibition of the person's licensure, employment, or
  2 21 residence is warranted.
  2 22    4.  If the department of human services determines that the
  2 23 person has committed a crime or has a record of founded child
  2 24 or dependent adult abuse which warrants prohibition of
  2 25 licensure, employment, or residence, the person shall not be
  2 26 licensed under this chapter and shall not be employed by a
  2 27 facility or reside in a facility licensed under this chapter.
  2 28    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  135C.49  PUBLIC ACCESS TO FACILITY
  2 29 INFORMATION.
  2 30    1.  A health care facility shall provide an interested
  2 31 member of the public with access to the information listed in
  2 32 this section.  The access shall be provided in a manner which
  2 33 allows a person to review all of the information.  Access
  2 34 shall be provided during regular business hours, as defined in
  2 35 rules adopted for this purpose by the department.
  3  1    2.  The information required to be accessible under this
  3  2 section includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
  3  3    a.  The reports of inspections conducted by the department
  3  4 under this chapter during the immediate preceding five-year
  3  5 period.
  3  6    b.  Any citation issued to the facility during the
  3  7 immediate preceding five-year period, nature of the citation,
  3  8 status of any action taken in response to a citation, and
  3  9 status of any penalty assessed pursuant to a citation.
  3 10    c.  A copy of each complaint filed during the immediate
  3 11 preceding five-year period alleging a violation by the health
  3 12 care facility of the applicable requirements of this chapter
  3 13 or the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.  The name of
  3 14 the person who filed the complaint shall be kept confidential
  3 15 in accordance with section 135C.37.
  3 16    d.  A listing of the persons who hold a license,
  3 17 registration, or certification and are employed by the
  3 18 facility or regularly provide services to residents of the
  3 19 facility.
  3 20    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  155.19  HEALTH CARE FACILITY –
  3 21 REVOCATION.
  3 22    1.  If a person licensed under this chapter is the nursing
  3 23 home administrator of a health care facility for which the
  3 24 license to operate under chapter 135C was revoked due to
  3 25 violations of requirements under chapter 135C, the board shall
  3 26 suspend the person's license.  The suspension shall be in
  3 27 effect for a period of three years from the date the health
  3 28 care facility license was revoked.
  3 29    2.  A person whose license is suspended under this section
  3 30 may appeal the suspension in an evidentiary hearing under
  3 31 chapter 17A.  The person's license shall be reinstated if the
  3 32 person can show by a preponderance of evidence the person took
  3 33 positive action to address the health care facility violations
  3 34 which led to revocation of the facility's license or there is
  3 35 other good cause to show the person should not be held
  4  1 accountable for the violations.
  4  2    Sec. 4.  Section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code
  4  3 1997, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  4  4    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (16)  To the department of inspections
  4  5 and appeals for purposes of performing records checks required
  4  6 under section 135C.33.
  4  7    Sec. 5.  Section 235B.6, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code
  4  8 1997, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  4  9    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (7)  The department of inspections and
  4 10 appeals for purposes of performing records checks required
  4 11 under section 135C.33.
  4 12    Sec. 6.  NURSING HOME STAFFING.
  4 13    1.  The governor shall establish a task force to develop
  4 14 measures to assure the staffs of nursing homes and other
  4 15 health care facilities have appropriate qualifications and
  4 16 skills.  The issues considered by the task force shall include
  4 17 but are not limited to consideration of the appropriate levels
  4 18 of training required for nurse aides, medication aides, and
  4 19 other staff who are essential for quality of care, methods for
  4 20 developing a career progression for such staff, and other
  4 21 staffing issues connected with the quality of care.
  4 22    2.  The membership of the task force shall include
  4 23 representatives from the departments of inspections and
  4 24 appeals, elder affairs, and human services, and the long-term
  4 25 care ombudsman, representatives of care review committees,
  4 26 area agencies on aging, the American association of retired
  4 27 persons, the Iowa state council on senior citizens, advocacy
  4 28 groups, health care facility residents and family members of
  4 29 residents, and not-for-profit and for-profit health care
  4 30 facilities.  In addition, one representative shall be
  4 31 designated by the leader of each political party caucus in the
  4 32 senate and house of representatives.  Legislative members are
  4 33 eligible for payment of per diem and expenses as provided in
  4 34 section 2.10 for attendance at task force meetings.  A task
  4 35 force report shall be submitted to the governor and the
  5  1 general assembly on or before January 12, 1998.  
  5  2                           EXPLANATION
  5  3    This bill relates to health care facility requirements
  5  4 involving licensees, employees, nursing home administrators,
  5  5 and public access to information.
  5  6    The bill amends Code section 135C.33 to require the
  5  7 department of inspections and appeals to conduct criminal and
  5  8 child and dependent adult abuse records checks of prospective
  5  9 health care facility employees.  Under current law, the checks
  5 10 are done pursuant to a request by the health care facility to
  5 11 the department of human services and are done only on a random
  5 12 basis.  In addition, the bill applies to all applicants for
  5 13 facility employment by striking references to licensees and
  5 14 persons residing in a health care facility.
  5 15    The bill requires the records checks regarding employment
  5 16 by residential care facilities, nursing facilities,
  5 17 intermediate care facilities for persons with mental
  5 18 retardation, and intermediate care facilities for persons with
  5 19 mental illness licensed under Code chapter 135C.
  5 20    The bill also amends Code section 135C.33 to provide that
  5 21 if the department of inspections and appeals determines there
  5 22 is a record of a crime or founded abuse there will be an
  5 23 evaluation by the department of human services to determine if
  5 24 prohibition of employment by a health care facility is
  5 25 warranted.  Currently, the department of human services
  5 26 conducts both the records checks and the evaluation.
  5 27    Current law is unchanged which prohibit the employment by a
  5 28 health care facility of a person who has committed a crime or
  5 29 has a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse if the
  5 30 prohibition is found to be warranted by a department of human
  5 31 services evaluation.
  5 32    New Code section 155.19 provides for the suspension of the
  5 33 license of a nursing home administrator of a health care
  5 34 facility for which the license to operate was revoked due to
  5 35 violations of Code chapter 135C, the health care facility
  6  1 regulatory chapter.  The period of suspension is three years
  6  2 unless the person can show in an evidentiary hearing under
  6  3 Code chapter 17A that the person took positive action to
  6  4 address the violations or there is other good cause to show
  6  5 the person should not be held accountable for the violations.
  6  6    The bill also amends sections 235A.15 and 235B.6 to provide
  6  7 the department of inspections and appeals with access to the
  6  8 child and dependent adult abuse registries for purposes of
  6  9 performing the records checks of prospective health care
  6 10 facility employees.
  6 11    New Code section 135C.49 requires health care facilities to
  6 12 make certain information accessible to the public during
  6 13 regular business hours.  The information concerns reports of
  6 14 inspections by the department of inspections and appeals, any
  6 15 citations issued to the facility during the preceding five-
  6 16 year period, any complaints about the facility filed during
  6 17 the immediate preceding five-year period, and a listing of the
  6 18 persons employed by or providing services to residents of the
  6 19 facility.
  6 20    The bill directs the governor to establish a task force to
  6 21 develop measures to assure staff of nursing homes and other
  6 22 health care facilities have the appropriate qualifications and
  6 23 skills.  The bill specifies various interests to be
  6 24 represented in the task force membership and legislators are
  6 25 to be included.  A final report is to be submitted by the task
  6 26 force prior to the 1998 legislative session.  
  6 27 LSB 2614HH 77
  6 28 jp/jj/8
     
Text: HF00667                           Text: HF00669
Text: HF00600 - HF00699                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index
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