H. B. 2610
(By Delegates Haskins, Seacrist, Everson,
Ball, Dempsey, Williams and Adkins)
[Introduced February 21, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article five-c, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to nursing,
personal, and residential care homes; exempting fraternal
homes from the licensing requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article five-c, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5C. NURSING, PERSONAL AND RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES.
§16-5C-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) The term "director" means the secretary of the
department of health and human resources or his or her designee;
(b) The term "facility" means any nursing home, personal
care home or residential board and care home as defined in
subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of this section: Provided, That
the care or treatment in a household, whether for compensation or
not, of any person related by blood or marriage, within the
degree of consanguinity of second cousin to the head of the
household, or his or her spouse, may not be deemed to constitute
a nursing home, personal care home, or residential board and care
home within the meaning of this article. Nothing contained in
this article shall apply applies to hospitals, as defined under
section one, article five-b of this chapter, or state
institutions as defined under section six, article one, chapter
twenty-seven of this code or section three, article one, chapter
twenty-five of this code, or nursing homes operated by the
federal government or the state government, or institutions
operated for the treatment and care of alcoholic patients, or
offices of physicians, or hotels, boarding homes or other similar places that furnish to their guests only room and board, or
extended care facilities operated in conjunction with a hospital
or to homes or asylums operated by fraternal orders pursuant to
article three, chapter thirty-five of this code;
(c) The term "limited and intermittent nursing care" means
care which may only be provided when the need for such care meets
these factors: (1) The resident requests to remain in the
facility; (2) the resident is advised of the availability of
other specialized health care facilities to treat his or her
condition; and (3) the need for such care is the result of a
medical pathology or a result of the normal aging process.
Limited and intermittent nursing care shall only be provided by
or under the direct supervision of a registered professional
nurse and in accordance with rules promulgated by the board of
health;
(d) The term "nursing home" means any institution, residence
or place, or any part or unit thereof, however named, in this
state which is advertised, offered, maintained or operated by the
ownership or management, whether for a consideration or not, for
the express or implied purpose of providing accommodations and care, for a period of more than twenty-four hours, for four or
more persons who are ill or otherwise incapacitated and in need
of extensive, on-going nursing care due to physical or mental
impairment, or which provides services for the rehabilitation of
persons who are convalescing from illness or incapacitation;
(e) The term "personal care home" means any institution,
residence or place, or any part or unit thereof, however named,
in this state which is advertised, offered, maintained or
operated by the ownership or management, whether for a
consideration or not, for the express or implied purpose of
providing accommodations and personal assistance and supervision,
for a period of more than twenty-four hours, to four or more
persons who are dependent upon the services of others by reason
of physical or mental impairment who may require limited and
intermittent nursing care, including those individuals who
qualify for and are receiving services coordinated by a licensed
hospice: Provided, That services utilizing equipment which
requires auxiliary electrical power in the event of a power
failure shall may not be used unless the personal care home has
a backup power generator;
(f) The term "residential board and care home" means any
residence or place, or any part or unit thereof, however named,
in this state which is advertised, offered, maintained or
operated by the ownership or management, whether for
consideration or not, for the express or implied purpose of
providing accommodations and personal assistance and supervision,
for a period of more than twenty-four hours, to four to ten
persons who are not related to the owner or manager by blood or
marriage within the degree of consanguinity of second cousin and
are dependent upon the services of others by reason of physical
or mental impairment or who may require limited and intermittent
nursing care but are capable of self-preservation and are not
bedfast, including those individuals who qualify for and are
receiving services coordinated by a licensed hospice: Provided,
That services utilizing equipment which requires auxiliary
electrical power in the event of a power failure shall may not be
used unless the residential board and care home has a backup
power generator;
(g) The term "nursing care" means those procedures commonly
employed in providing for the physical, emotional and rehabilitational needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated
which require technical skills and knowledge beyond that which
the untrained person possesses, including, but not limited to,
such procedures as: Irrigations, catheterizations, special
procedure contributing to rehabilitation and administration of
medication by any method which involves a level of complexity and
skill in administration not possessed by the untrained person;
(h) The term "personal assistance" means personal services,
including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking,
bathing, dressing, feeding or getting in or out of bed, or
supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of
the resident;
(i) The term "patient" means an individual under care in a
nursing home;
(j) The term "resident" means an individual living in a
personal care home or a residential board and care home;
(k) The term "sponsor" means the person or agency legally
responsible for the welfare and support of a patient or resident;
(l) The term "person" means an individual and every form of
organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, including any partnership, corporation, trust, association or political
subdivision of the state.
The director may define in regulations any term used herein
which is not expressly defined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt fraternal homes
from the licensing requirements pertaining to nursing homes,
personal care homes and residential board and care homes.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.