PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 445, 2055, 3076 PRINTER'S NO. 3508
No. 413 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY VEON, DeLUCA, DeWEESE, ROONEY, MAYERNIK, BELARDI,
PESCI, KASUNIC, MIHALICH, COLAIZZO, STISH, KREBS, BLAUM,
RITTER, McGEEHAN, STABACK, JOSEPHS, DALEY, OLASZ, TRELLO,
HANNA, BATTISTO, LaGROTTA, MICHLOVIC, MELIO, GERLACH, SURRA,
FREEMAN, GIGLIOTTI, COLAFELLA, LAUGHLIN, PISTELLA,
D. W. SNYDER, KENNEY, WILLIAMS, KIRKLAND, TRICH, COY,
PETRARCA, KELLER, HUGHES, VITALI, SANTONI AND JAMES,
FEBRUARY 10, 1993
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
MARCH 22, 1994
AN ACT
1 Requiring nursing homes to submit information annually to the
2 Department of Health; providing for certain duties of the
3 Department of Health and the Department of Aging; providing
4 immunity for long-term care ombudsman and person reporting
5 thereto; and providing for the licensure and regulation of
6 personal care homes.
7 TABLE OF CONTENTS
8 Chapter 1. Nursing Home Consumer Information
9 Section 101. Short title of chapter.
10 Section 102. Definitions.
11 Section 103. Nursing Home Consumer Information Report.
12 Section 104. Nursing home consumer information.
13 Section 105. Complaints.
14 Section 106. Additional consumer information.
15 Section 107. Penalties.
16 Chapter 3. Ombudsman Immunity
1 Section 301. Short title of chapter.
2 Section 302. Definitions.
3 Section 303. Immunity from liability.
4 Section 304. Retaliatory action.
5 Section 305. Immunity for reporting.
6 Section 306. Damages.
7 Chapter 5. Personal Care Homes
8 Section 501. Licensure of personal care homes.
9 Chapter 9. Miscellaneous Provisions
10 Section 901. Repeals.
11 Section 902. Effective date.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 CHAPTER 1
15 NURSING HOME CONSUMER INFORMATION
16 Section 101. Short title of chapter.
17 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Nursing
18 Home Consumer Information Act.
19 Section 102. Definitions.
20 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
21 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
22 context clearly indicates otherwise:
23 "Consumer Information Guide." The Nursing Home Consumer
24 Information Guide required to be published under the provisions
25 of this chapter.
26 "Elderly persons." Those persons residing within this
27 Commonwealth who are 60 years of age or older.
28 "Nursing home." A facility that provides either skilled or
29 intermediate nursing care or both levels of such care to two or
30 more elderly persons, who are unrelated to the licensee, for a
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1 period exceeding 24 hours. Intermediate care facilities
2 exclusively for the mentally retarded, commonly called ICF/MR
3 shall not be considered nursing homes for the purpose of this
4 chapter.
5 Section 103. Nursing Home Consumer Information Report.
6 In addition to the information required by the Department of
7 Health on a form provided by the Department of Health pursuant
8 to the provisions of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48),
9 known as the Health Care Facilities Act, and regulations
10 promulgated pursuant thereto, each nursing home shall provide to
11 the Department of Health no later than 90 days after the close
12 of each calendar year the following information on the above-
13 referenced form:
14 (1) Nursing hours worked per patient per day and nursing
15 hours required by the Department of Health per patient per
16 day. Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
17 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
18 (2) Average length of service of professional nursing
19 staff and the average length of service of nurse aide
20 personnel at the nursing home completing the form.
21 (3) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
22 professional nursing staff and the average length of
23 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
24 (4) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
25 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aide personnel.
26 (5) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
27 regular basis.
28 Section 104. Nursing home consumer information.
29 (a) Guide.--
30 (1) The Department of Aging shall produce, in a timely
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1 manner, an annual Nursing Home Consumer Guide. It shall
2 include:
3 (i) The items listed in section 103.
4 (ii) Information obtained from the annual Long-Term
5 Care Facilities Questionnaires submitted to the
6 Department of Health.
7 (iii) Information obtained from the Health Care
8 Financing Administration Ownership Disclosure Form.
9 (iv) A comparative list of nursing homes developed
10 in the manner provided in subsection (b).
11 (v) The Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Hotline
12 telephone number required under subsection (c).
13 (2) If errors are found in the Nursing Home Consumer
14 Guide, all facilities shall be sent a correction sheet within
15 30 days of the Department of Aging's receipt of notification
16 of the error. For the purposes of this section, an error
17 shall be defined as information incorrectly transcribed from
18 the forms provided to the Department of Health to the
19 consumer guide.
20 (3) The Department of Aging will send final proofs to
21 the nursing home of its data profile that will be published
22 in the consumer guide prior to publication. The nursing home
23 will have five days to notify the Department of Aging of any
24 errors to be corrected. If the Department of Aging receives
25 no notification of errors, the data profile will be
26 considered accurate and will be published.
27 (b) Comparative list.--The comparative list of nursing homes
28 shall be developed and included in the Consumer Information
29 Guide by the Department of Aging. It shall include, but not be
30 limited to, the following information:
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1 (1) Name of facility.
2 (2) Facility address and phone number.
3 (3) Bed capacity.
4 (4) Owner of facility and managing company, if
5 applicable.
6 (5) Type of sponsorship, including, but not limited to,
7 governmental, nonprofit and for-profit.
8 (6) Payment sources accepted, including, but not limited
9 to, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans' Administration, long-term
10 care insurance and private pay.
11 (7) Current license, deficiency and certification status
12 as determined by the Department of Health; whether, within
13 the previous five years, the facility has been subject to a
14 provisional license, a ban on admissions, penalties imposed
15 in connection with the licensure or certification process, a
16 license revocation or appointment of a temporary manager to
17 operate the facility or Medicare or Medicaid decertification
18 and the corresponding dates.
19 (8) Nursing hours per patient per day and nursing hours
20 required by the Department of Health per patient per day.
21 Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
22 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
23 (9) Average length of service at the nursing home of
24 professional nursing staff and the average length of service
25 of nurse aide staff.
26 (10) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
27 professional nursing staff and the average length of
28 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
29 (11) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
30 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aid personnel.
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1 (12) A listing of existence and availability of specific
2 therapy services, including, but not limited to, physical
3 therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and respiratory
4 therapy.
5 (13) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
6 regular basis.
7 (14) Name and telephone number of a local ombudsman.
8 (c) Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.--The
9 Department of Aging shall establish a Statewide telephone number
10 to serve as the Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.
11 This number shall be a toll-free number. The purpose of this
12 telephone number is to respond to calls regarding the current
13 licensure, deficiency and certification status of nursing homes.
14 All data provided by the hotline shall be updated each week
15 using information provided by the Department of Health in a
16 timely fashion. This telephone number shall be prominently
17 displayed in the annual Nursing Home Consumer Guide.
18 (d) Disclosure.--The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the
19 Department of Aging shall mail at least one copy of the Nursing
20 Home Consumer Information Guide to the local long-term care
21 ombudsman of each area agency on aging, to each nursing home and
22 to the Pennsylvania Council on Aging annually.
23 (e) Availability.--Each nursing home shall post next to its
24 Department of Health license an exact copy of its listing as
25 found in the Consumer Information Guide. A nursing home shall
26 provide to each prospective resident and family member of such
27 prospective resident who visits the facility, or any member of
28 the public upon request, during normal business or visiting
29 hours, Sunday through Saturday, an exact copy of its listing as
30 set forth in the Consumer Information Guide.
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1 (f) Inspections.--The Department of Health shall verify the
2 availability of the listing during annual licensing surveys. The
3 Department of Health shall monitor compliance with the
4 requirements of this chapter for regular filing of the Long-Term
5 Care Facilities Questionnaire with the Department of Health.
6 (g) Update.--The Department of Health shall issue
7 modifications to the Long-Term Care Facilities Questionnaire
8 resulting from changes in the reimbursement system for nursing
9 homes. Such modifications shall provide the same information in
10 an updated format.
11 Section 105. Complaints.
12 Complaints of noncompliance with this chapter shall be filed
13 with the Department of Aging. A complainant shall include, but
14 not be limited to, a local ombudsman, a nursing home resident, a
15 prospective nursing home resident, or any person representing
16 the interests of a nursing home resident or prospective nursing
17 home resident.
18 Section 106. Additional consumer information.
19 Each nursing home shall provide to each prospective resident
20 or representative thereof at the time of initial inquiry, a
21 companion consumer guide which describes how to select a nursing
22 home. This information can be either a publication of the
23 Department of Aging, a camera-ready copy of a publication
24 provided by the Department of Aging or a comparable publication
25 that will inform the consumer on how to choose a nursing home.
26 Section 107. Penalties.
27 The Department of Aging shall have the authority to assess a
28 $5,000 fine for each violation of this chapter. Any person
29 aggrieved by an adjudication by the Department of Aging shall
30 have the right to appeal pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. (relating to
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1 judiciary and judicial procedure).
2 CHAPTER 3
3 OMBUDSMAN IMMUNITY
4 Section 301. Short title of chapter.
5 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Long-Term
6 Care Facilities Ombudsman Immunity Act.
7 Section 302. Definitions.
8 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
9 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10 context clearly indicates otherwise:
11 "Ombudsman." An individual authorized by the Department of
12 Aging who investigates and resolves complaints made by or on
13 behalf of people 60 years of age and older who are consumers of
14 long-term care services which may adversely affect the health,
15 safety, welfare or rights of such residents.
16 Section 303. Immunity from liability.
17 An ombudsman shall be immune from civil and criminal
18 liability for any decision or action or resulting consequence of
19 a decision or action when acting in its official capacity and in
20 good faith performance of its duties.
21 Section 304. Retaliatory action.
22 An ombudsman shall be free from intimidating or retaliatory
23 action by any person for actions taken in performance of its
24 duties and from willful interference with the performance of its
25 duties.
26 Section 305. Immunity for reporting.
27 A person who takes a good faith report to an ombudsman shall
28 be free from intimidation or retaliation by any person, employer
29 or entity and shall be immune from any civil or criminal
30 liability unless the person acted in bad faith or with malicious
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1 purpose. Immunity shall not extend the liability for acts of
2 abuse, neglect or exploitation even if the acts are the subject
3 of the report or testimony.
4 Section 306. Damages.
5 Any person who violates this section by intimidating or
6 taking retaliatory action against an ombudsman or person
7 qualifying for immunity under section 305 shall be liable in a
8 civil action in which the ombudsman or person is entitled to
9 treble compensatory and punitive damages or $5,000, whichever is
10 greater.
11 CHAPTER 5
12 PERSONAL CARE HOMES
13 Section 501. Licensure of personal care homes.
14 (a) Transfer of licensing and regulatory powers.--All
15 licensing and regulation of personal care homes, personnel,
16 supplies and equipment now being used or held in connection with
17 such licensing and regulation are hereby transferred to the
18 Department of Aging.
19 (b) Transfer of funds.--Any unexpended balances of
20 appropriations, allocations and other funds available or to be
21 made available for use in connection with such licensing and
22 regulation are transferred to the Department of Aging.
23 (c) Regulations.--The Department of Aging shall promulgate
24 regulations regarding the licensure of personal care homes. All
25 existing regulations for the licensing and regulation of
26 personal care homes shall remain in effect until amended or
27 deleted by the Department of Aging.
28 (D) LOTTERY FUNDS.--NO MONEYS FROM THE STATE LOTTERY FUND <--
29 SHALL BE USED TO AFFECT THE TRANSFER PROVIDED FOR IN THIS
30 SECTION, NOR SHALL ANY SUCH MONEYS BE USED FOR ANY OF THE
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1 LICENSING OR REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING
2 WITH RESPECT TO PERSONAL CARE HOMES.
3 CHAPTER 9
4 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
5 Section 901. Repeals.
6 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
7 inconsistent with Chapter 5.
8 Section 902. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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