Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 111-8-62-.09 - Workforce Qualifications and Training
(1) Age Requirements. The on-site manager and
all other direct-care supervisory staff working in a personal care home must be
at least 21 years of age. Non-supervisory staff providing hands-on care to the
residents must be at least 18 years of age.
(2) The administrator or on-site manager must
be responsible for ensuring that any person working in the home as an employee,
under contract or otherwise, receives work-related training within the first
sixty days of employment. Such training must include, at a minimum, the
following:
(a) Evidence of current
certification in emergency first aid except where the staff person is a
currently licensed health care professional;
(b) Evidence of current certification in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation where the training course required return
demonstration of competency;
(c)
Emergency evacuation procedures;
(d) Medical and social needs and
characteristics of the resident population;
(e) Residents' rights;
(f) Identification of conduct constituting
abuse, neglect or exploitation of a resident and reporting requirements to
include the employee's receipt of a copy of the Long-Term Care Facility
Resident Abuse Reporting Act as outlined in O.C.G.A. §
31-8-81 et seq.; and
(g) General infection control principles
including the importance of hand hygiene in all settings and attendance
policies when ill.
(3) At
least one staff person having completed the minimum training requirements of
Rule 111-8-62-.09(2)(a) through
(g) above must be present in the home at all
times resident(s) are present in the home.
(4) All direct care staff, including the
administrator or on-site manager, must satisfactorily complete continuing
education each year, in courses, relevant to their job duties, including, but
not limited to, appropriate medication assistance, working with the elderly,
working with residents with Alzheimer's or other cognitive impairments, working
with the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, social and recreational
activities, legal issues, physical maintenance and fire safety, housekeeping,
or other topics as needed or as determined by the Department.
(5) All direct care staff, including the
administrator or on-site manager, must have at least sixteen (16) hours of
training per year.
(6) The
administrator, on-site manager, and each employee must have received a
tuberculosis screening and a physical examination by a licensed physician,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant within twelve months prior to their
employment with the home which examination was sufficiently comprehensive to
assure that the employee is free of diseases communicable within the scope of
employment and physically qualified to work. Follow-up examinations must be
conducted by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant of
each administrator or staff person to determine readiness to return to work
following a significant illness or injury. Copies of information regarding
staff member health must be kept in the staff person's file accessible at the
licensed home or within one hour of the request.
(7)
Criminal History Background Checks
for Owners Required. Prior to the issuance of any new license, the owner
of the business or agency applying for the license must comply with the
requirements of the Rules and Regulations for Criminal Background Checks,
Chapter 111-8-12.
(8)
Criminal History Background Checks for Directors, Administrators and
Onsite Managers Required. The home must obtain a satisfactory
fingerprint records check determination for the person being considered for
employment as a director, administrator or onsite manager. The records check
determination must be done in compliance with the Rules and Regulations for
Criminal Background Checks, Chapter 111-8-12.
(9)
Criminal History Background Checks
for Direct Access Employees Required. Prior to serving as a direct
access employee, the home must obtain a satisfactory fingerprint records check
determination for the person to be hired in compliance with the Rules and
Regulations for Criminal Background Checks, Chapter 111-8-12.
(10) The administrator or on-site manager
must obtain and verify a five year employment history when possible for each
employee and maintain documentation in the employee's file. If the potential
employee has no prior employment history, then the home must retain
documentation of a satisfactory personal reference check.
(11) Personnel file(s) for each employee must
be maintained either in the home or available for inspection by departmental
staff within one hour of request or prior to the end of the on-site survey and
for three years following the employee's departure or discharge. These files
must include all of the following:
(a)
Evidence of a satisfactory fingerprint record check determination, if
applicable.
(b) Report of a
physical examination completed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or
physician assistant.
(c) Evidence
of trainings, skills competency determinations and recertifications as required
by these rules and, if applicable, the Rules for Proxy Caregivers, Chapter
111-8-100.
(d) Employment history,
if previously employed, including places of work, employers and telephone
contacts with previous employers.
(e) Supporting documentation reflecting that
the employee has the basic qualifications as represented, e.g. personal
references, documentation of good standing by nursing board, no findings of
abuse, neglect or exploitation entered against the individual in the nurse aide
registry, satisfactory report of motor vehicle driving record where the
employee may be transporting residents.
(f) Written evidence of satisfactory initial
and annual work performance reviews, which can take the form of skills
competency checklists, for unlicensed staff providing hands-on personal care.
Where the unlicensed staff performs specialized tasks, such as health
maintenance activities, such performance reviews must include the satisfactory
completion of skills competency checklists as specified in applicable rules.
Such reviews must be conducted by staff or contractors qualified by education,
training and experience to assess that the assigned duties are being performed
in accordance with applicable rules and accepted health and safety
standards.
(12) Where the
home permits a resident to hire his or her own companion-sitter, proxy
caregiver to perform health maintenance activities or aide of any sort, the
home must require assurance that the companion-sitter, proxy caregiver or aide
so hired is familiar with emergency evacuation routes and has documentation
reflecting compliance with the provisions of the Rules for Proxy Caregivers,
Chapter 111-8-100, as applicable.
Notes
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No prior version found.