231B.2 - CERTIFICATION OF ELDER GROUP HOMES -- RULES.
231B.2 CERTIFICATION OF ELDER GROUP HOMES -- RULES.
1. The department shall establish by rule, in accordance with
chapter 17A, minimum standards for certification and monitoring of
elder group homes. The department may adopt by reference, with or
without amendment, nationally recognized standards and rules for
elder group homes. The standards and rules shall be formulated in
consultation with affected state agencies and affected industry,
professional, and consumer groups; shall be designed to accomplish
the purposes of this chapter; and shall include but not be limited to
rules relating to all of the following:
a. Provisions to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the
health, safety, well-being, and appropriate treatment of tenants.
b. Requirements that elder group homes furnish the department
with specified information necessary to administer this chapter. All
information related to the provider application for an elder group
home presented to the department shall be considered a public record
pursuant to chapter 22.
c. Standards for tenant evaluation or assessment, which may
vary in accordance with the nature of the services provided or the
status of the tenant.
d. Provisions for granting short-term waivers for tenants who
exceed occupancy criteria.
2. Each elder group home operating in this state shall be
certified by the department.
3. The owner or manager of a certified elder group home shall
comply with the rules adopted by the department for an elder group
home. A person, including a governmental unit, shall not represent
an elder group home to the public as an elder group home or as a
certified elder group home unless and until the program is certified
pursuant to this chapter.
4. a. Services provided by a certified elder group home may
be provided directly by staff of the elder group home, by individuals
contracting with the elder group home to provide services, or by
individuals employed by the tenant or with whom the tenant contracts
if the tenant agrees to assume the responsibility and risk of the
employment or the contractual relationship.
b. If a tenant is terminally ill and has elected to receive
hospice services under the federal Medicare program from a
Medicare-certified hospice program, the elder group home and the
Medicare-certified hospice program shall enter into a written
agreement under which the hospice program retains professional
management responsibility for those services.
5. The department may enter into contracts to provide
certification and monitoring of elder group homes. The department
shall:
a. Have full access at reasonable times to all records,
materials, and common areas pertaining to the provision of services
and care to the tenants of a program during certification,
monitoring, and complaint investigations of programs seeking
certification, currently certified, or alleged to be uncertified.
b. With the consent of the tenant, visit the tenant's unit.
6. A department, agency, or officer of this state or of any
governmental unit shall not pay or approve for payment from public
funds any amount to an elder group home for an actual or prospective
tenant, unless the program holds a current certificate issued by the
department and meets all current requirements for certification.
7. The department shall adopt rules regarding the conducting or
operating of another business or activity in the distinct part of the
physical structure in which the elder group home is operated, if the
business or activity serves persons who are not tenants. The rules
shall be developed in consultation with affected state agencies and
affected industry, professional, and consumer groups.
8. An elder group home shall comply with section 135C.33.
9. The department shall conduct training sessions for personnel
responsible for conducting monitoring evaluations and complaint
investigations of elder group homes.
10. Certification shall be for two years unless revoked for good
cause by the department. Section History: Recent Form
93 Acts, ch 72, § 3; 99 Acts, ch 129, §16; 2003 Acts, ch 166, §4,
5; 2005 Acts, ch 62, §3; 2006 Acts, ch 1010, §70; 2007 Acts, ch 215,
§137--141