155.9  Duties of the board.
  The board shall have the duty and responsibility to:
  1.  Develop, impose, and enforce standards which must be met by individuals in order to receive a license as a nursing home administrator, which standards shall be designed to insure that nursing home administrators will be individuals who, by training or experience in the field of institutional administration, are qualified to serve as nursing home administrators.
  2.  Develop and apply appropriate techniques, including examination and investigations, for determining whether an individual meets such standards. The board may administer as many examinations per year as are necessary, but shall administer at least one examination per year. Any written examination may be given by representatives of the board. Applicants who fail the examination once shall be allowed to take the examination at the next scheduled time. Thereafter, the applicant shall be allowed to take the examination at the discretion of the board. An applicant who has failed the examination may request in writing information from the board concerning the applicant’s examination grade and subject areas or questions which the applicant failed to answer correctly, except that if the board administers a uniform, standardized examination, the board shall only be required to provide the examination grade and such other information concerning the applicant’s examination results which are available to the board.
  3.  Issue licenses to individuals who, after application of such techniques, are found to have met such standards; and for cause and after due notice and hearing, revoke or suspend licenses previously issued by such board in any case where the individual holding such license is found to have failed substantially to conform to the requirements of such standards.
  The board may also accept the voluntary surrender of such license without necessity of a hearing. In the event of the inability of the regular administrator of a nursing home to perform the administrator’s duties or through death or other cause the nursing home is without a licensed administrator, a provisional administrator may be appointed on a temporary basis by the nursing home owner or owners to perform such duties for a period not to exceed one year.
  4.  Establish and carry out procedures designed to insure that individuals licensed as nursing home administrators will, during any period that they serve as such, comply with the requirements of such standards.
  5.  Receive, investigate, and take appropriate action with respect to any charge or complaint filed with the board to the effect that any individual licensed as a nursing home administrator has failed to comply with the requirements of such standards. Such appropriate action may include revocation of a license, if necessary, or placing the licensee on probation for a period not exceeding six months, and shall be taken only for cause after due notice and a hearing on the charge or complaint.
  6.  Conduct a continuing study and investigation of nursing homes, and administrators of nursing homes, in this state with a view to the improvement of the standards imposed for the licensing of such administrators and of procedures and methods for the enforcement of such standards with respect to administrators of nursing homes who have been licensed as such.
  7.  Conduct, or cause to be conducted, one or more courses of instruction and training sufficient to meet the requirements of this chapter, and make provisions for such courses and their accessibility to residents of this state unless it finds that there are, and approves, a sufficient number of courses, which courses are conducted by others within this state. In lieu thereof the board may approve courses conducted within and without this state as sufficient to meet the education and training requirements of this chapter.
[C71, 73, 75, §147.126; C77, 79, 81, §135E.9]
C93, §155.9
2004 Acts, ch 1168, §10