Section 39.91. Standards of professional practice and professional conduct for nursing home administrators

The Board adopts the following standards of practice and standards of professional conduct to establish and maintain a high standard of integrity and dignity in the profession and to protect the public against unprofessional conduct on the part of nursing home administrators.

(1) General management. A nursing home administrator shall:

(i) Develop policies which govern the continuing care and related medical and other services provided by the facility which reflect the facility’s philosophy to provide a high level of resident care in a healthy, safe and comfortable environment.

(ii) Evaluate the quality of resident care and efficiency of services, identify strengths and weaknesses and set in place measures for improvements where necessary, and evaluate progress and institute appropriate follow-up activities.

(iii) Set in place a functional table of organization with standards of accountability and hold department heads accountable for the performance of their respective departments.

(iv) Maintain open lines of communication with the governing body, department heads, facility staff and its residents to assure resources are properly allocated and that resident care is maintained at a high level.

(v) Review the reports of the medical director and outside resources and consider for possible implementation.

(vi) Maintain compliance with governmental regulations and assure that the facility’s nondiscriminatory policy and policy on resident rights are available for inspection by the public.

(2) Professional conduct. A nursing home administrator shall:

(i) Uphold the standards of the profession of nursing home administration as prescribed in this chapter.

(ii) Refrain from conduct or practice which would jeopardize continued licensure as a nursing home administrator as outlined in § 39.9 (relating to revocation or suspension of licenses).

(3) Personnel management. A nursing home administrator shall:

(i) Implement personnel policies and procedures which define job responsibilities, accountability and the performance appraisal process. Personnel policies emphasize the importance of the health care team in the delivery of quality resident care.

(ii) Assure that a formal program is in place to provide for the recruitment, hiring and development of competent department managers and other facility staff.

(iii) Promote job satisfaction and commitment to quality care by recognizing employe achievement.

(iv) Coordinate training programs to improve employe skills and to enhance employe performance.

(4) Financial management. A nursing home administrator shall provide or recommend:

(i) The development of a budget, the objective of which is the delivery of quality care.

(ii) A system that monitors financial operations, promotes financial stability and enhances present and future viability of capital assets.

(iii) The maintenance of adequate insurance coverage to meet the needs of the facility.

(iv) The maintenance of patient occupancy levels at an optimal level.

(5) Public relations. A nursing home administrator shall foster a positive image for the long term care facility.

The provisions of this § 39.91 adopted September 8, 1989, effective September 9, 1989, 19 Pa.B. 3825.

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 39.91 issued under section 4(a)(9) of the Nursing Home Administrators License Act (63 P. S. § 1104(a)(9)).