AN ACT Relating to the
establishment of a quality improvement program for boarding homes; amending RCW
18.20.115; adding a new section to chapter 18.20 RCW; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 18.20.115 and 1997 c
392 s 213 are each amended to read as follows:
The ((department's
system of quality improvement for long-term care services shall use)) department
shall, within available funding for this purpose, develop and make available to
boarding homes a quality improvement consultation program using the
following principles((, consistent with applicable federal laws and
regulations)):
(1) The system shall be
resident-centered and promote privacy, independence, dignity, choice, and a
home or home-like environment for residents consistent with chapter 70.129 RCW.
(2) The goal of the
system is continuous quality improvement with the focus on resident
satisfaction and outcomes for residents. ((This includes that when
conducting licensing inspections, the department shall interview an appropriate
percentage of residents, family members, and advocates in addition to
interviewing appropriate staff.)) The quality improvement consultation
program shall be offered to boarding homes on a voluntary basis. Based on
requests for the services of the quality improvement consultation program, the
department may establish a process for prioritizing service availability.
(3) ((Facilities))
Boarding homes should be supported in their efforts to improve quality
and address ((identified)) problems, as identified by the
licensee, initially through training, consultation, and technical
assistance. At a minimum, the department may, within available funding, at
the request of the boarding home, conduct on-site visits and telephone
consultations.
(4) To facilitate
collaboration and trust between the boarding homes and the department's quality
improvement consultation program staff, the consultation program staff shall
not simultaneously serve as department licensors, complaint investigators, or
participate in any enforcement-related decisions, within the region in which
they perform consultation activities; except such staff may investigate on an
emergency basis, complaints anywhere in the state when the complaint indicates
high risk to resident health or safety. Any records or information gained as a
result of their work under the quality improvement consultation program shall
not be disclosed to or shared with nonmanagerial department licensing or
complaint investigation staff, unless necessary to carry out duties described
under chapter 74.34 RCW. The emphasis should be on problem prevention ((both
in monitoring and in screening potential providers of service)). Nothing
in this section shall limit or interfere with the consultant's mandated
reporting duties under chapter 74.34 RCW.
(5) ((Monitoring
should be outcome based and responsive to resident complaints and a clear set
of health, quality of care, and safety standards that are easily understandable
and have been made available to facilities.
(6) Prompt and
specific enforcement remedies shall also be implemented without delay,
consistent with RCW 18.20.190, for facilities found to have delivered care or
failed to deliver care resulting in problems that are serious, recurring, or
uncorrected, or that create a hazard that is causing or likely to cause death
or serious harm to one or more residents. These enforcement remedies may also
include, when appropriate, reasonable conditions on a license. In the
selection of remedies, the safety, health, and well-being of residents shall be
of paramount importance.
(7) To the extent
funding is available, the licensee, administrator, and their staff should be
screened through background checks in a uniform and timely manner to ensure
that they do not have a criminal history that would disqualify them from
working with vulnerable adults. Employees may be provisionally hired pending
the results of the background check if they have been given three positive
references.
(8))) The department shall promote the development
of a training system that is practical and relevant to the needs of residents
and staff. To improve access to training, especially for rural communities,
the training system may include, but is not limited to, the use of satellite
technology distance learning that is coordinated through community colleges or
other appropriate organizations.
(((9) No licensee,
administrator, or staff, or prospective licensee, administrator, or staff, with
a stipulated finding of fact, conclusion of law, and agreed order, or finding
of fact, conclusion of law, or final order issued by a disciplining authority,
a court of law, or entered into the state registry finding him or her guilty of
abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of a minor or a vulnerable adult
as defined in chapter 74.34 RCW shall be employed in the care of and have
unsupervised access to vulnerable adults.))
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. A new section is added
to chapter 18.20 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Monitoring should
be outcome based and responsive to resident complaints and a clear set of
health, quality of care, and safety standards that are easily understandable
and have been made available to facilities. This includes that when conducting
licensing inspections, the department shall interview an appropriate percentage
of residents, family members, and advocates in addition to interviewing
appropriate staff.
(2) Prompt and specific
enforcement remedies shall also be implemented without delay, consistent with
RCW 18.20.190, for facilities found to have delivered care or failed to deliver
care resulting in problems that are serious, recurring, or uncorrected, or that
create a hazard that is causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to one
or more residents. These enforcement remedies may also include, when
appropriate, reasonable conditions on a license. In the selection of remedies,
the safety, health, and well-being of residents shall be of paramount
importance.
(3) To the extent
funding is available, the licensee, administrator, and their staff should be
screened through background checks in a uniform and timely manner to ensure
that they do not have a criminal history that would disqualify them from
working with vulnerable adults. Employees may be provisionally hired pending
the results of the background check if they have been given three positive
references.
(4) No licensee,
administrator, or staff, or prospective licensee, administrator, or staff, with
a stipulated finding of fact, conclusion of law, and agreed order, or finding
of fact, conclusion of law, or final order issued by a disciplining authority,
a court of law, or entered into the state registry finding him or her guilty of
abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of a minor or a vulnerable adult
as defined in chapter 74.34 RCW shall be employed in the care of and have
unsupervised access to vulnerable adults.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support
of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect
immediately.
