W. Va. Code R. § 64-75-3 - Definitions

3.1. Abuse. -- Mistreatment of residents, including physical bodily harm, misuse of physical or chemical restraints, verbal abuse, and infliction of emotional suffering.

3.2. Activities of daily living. -- The activities that individuals generally perform regularly in the course of maintaining their physical selves, such as eating, dressing, oral hygiene, toileting, personal grooming, and moving themselves from one location to another, as for example, in moving from a bed to a chair, or from one room to another.

3.3. Administration of medications. -- Opening a container of medication and giving the medication to the person for whom it is prescribed, including giving injections and administering eye drops.

3.4. Administrator. -- The owner or individual selected by the licensee to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the residential care community.

3.5. Adult day care. B An alternative to twenty-four (24) hour institutional care for elderly or disabled adults who need care and supervision not to exceed fourteen (14) hours a day.

3.6. Apartment and resident capacity. -- The number of apartments and residents for which a residential care community is licensed to provide care.

3.7. Bedfast. -- The condition of individuals who are restricted to a bed or chair for a prolonged or indefinite period of time and have limited ability to move or turn themselves while in bed or remove themselves from a chair. These individuals are therefore susceptible to physical and psychological complications of immobilization and are incapable of self-preservation. An individual for whom a physician has prescribed bed rest because of a short term illness (e.g., cold, flu, viruses, etc.) is not considered bedfast.

3.8. Behavioral Health Services. -- Those services intended to help individuals with emotional or mental disorders, alcohol or drug abuse problems, or mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, to gain or regain the capacity to function adaptively in their environment, to care for themselves and their families, and to be accepted by society.

3.9. Chemical restraint. -- A psychoactive drug that is used for discipline or convenience and is not required to treat medical symptoms.

3.10. Communicable disease. -- An illness due to an infectious agent or its toxic product which is transmitted, directly or indirectly, to a susceptible host from an infected person or animal, or through the agency of an intermediate host or a vector or through the inanimate environment.

3.11. Developmental disorder. -- A group of disorders in which the predominant disturbance is in the acquisition of cognitive, language, motor, or social skills. The disturbance may involve a general delay, as in mental retardation, or a delay or failure to progress in a specific area of skill acquisition or multiple areas in which there are qualitative distortions of normal development. The course of developmental disorders tends to be chronic, with some of the signs of the disorder persisting in a stable form, without periods of remission or exacerbation, into adult life.

3.12. Disability. -- Any limitation of physical, mental, or social activity of an individual as compared with other individuals of similar age, sex, and occupation. Frequently refers to limitation of the usual or major activities, most commonly vocational. There are varying types (functional, vocational, learning), degrees (partial, total), and durations (temporary, permanent) of disability.

3.13. Exploitation. -- The act or process of taking unjust advantage of another for one's own benefit.

3.14. Extensive nursing care. -- The nursing care required when there is a major deviation from normal in a body system or multiple body systems, of such magnitude that the deviations are life threatening, and the individual's condition is unstable and unpredictable.

3.15. Functional needs assessment. -- Any measurement tool that identifies for the resident and the licensee those services that will need to be obtained or provided for the resident in order to promote the resident's health, wellness, comfort, dignity and independence.

3.16. Immediate and serious threat. -- A situation that presents a high probability of serious harm or injury to one or more residents. An immediate or serious threat need not result in actual harm to any resident.

3.17. Imminent danger. -- As applied to a violation of this rule, a danger which could reasonably be expected to immediately cause or contribute to death, serious physical harm or illness to residents, household members or staff, before the threat can be eliminated through the plan of correction process of this rule.

3.18. Legal representative^[1]. --

3.18.a. A conservator, temporary conservator or limited conservator appointed pursuant to the West Virginia Guardianship and Conservatorship Act, W. Va. Code, '44A-1-1-et seq., within the limits set by the order;

3.18.b. A guardian, temporary guardian or limited guardian appointed pursuant to the West Virginia Guardianship and Conservatorship Act, W. Va. Code, '44A-1-1-et seq., within the limits set by the order;

3.18.c. An individual appointed as committee or guardian prior to June 9, 1994, within the limits set by the appointing order and W. Va. Code '44A-1-2(d);

3.18.d. An individual having a medical power of attorney pursuant to the West Virginia Medical Power of Attorney Act, W. Va. Code '16-30A-1 et seq., within the limits set by the law and the appointment;

3.18.e. A representative payee under the U.S. Social Security Act, Title 42 U.S.C. '301 et seq., within the limits of the payee's legal authority;

3.18.f. A surrogate decision-maker appointed pursuant to the West Virginia Health Care Surrogate Act, W. Va. Code '16-30B-1 et seq., or the West Virginia Do Not Resuscitate Act, '16-30C-1 et seq., within the limits set by the appointment; or

3.18.g. An attorney in fact appointed with power of attorney under common law or pursuant to Uniform Durable Power of Attorney, W. Va. Code '39-4-1et seq., within the limits set by the appointment; or

3.18.h. An individual lawfully appointed in a similar or like relationship of responsibility for a resident under the laws of this state, or another state or legal jurisdiction, within the limits of the applicable statute and appointing authority; and

3.18.i. Who has no financial ties to the residential care community.

3.19. Licensed health care professional. -- Any health care professional currently licensed in West Virginia such as, but not limited, to a social worker, dentist, practical nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, physician assistant, psychologist, registered professional nurse, or speech-language pathologist.

3.20. Life care contract. -- A contract between the licensee and an individual in which the licensee agrees to provide long-term residential care for the individual for the remainder of the individual's life, regardless of the level of care needed by the individual.

3.21. Major incident. -- An event or occurrence, the outcome of which places one (1) or more residents' health and well-being in jeopardy or imminent danger, as for example: a fall, accident or other event which seriously injures or threatens the life of the resident; a resident death occurring from other than natural causes; a missing resident who is likely to injure himself or herself or who needs medication or treatment on a regular basis and who is likely to have difficulty returning to the residential care community on his or her own; assaults on a resident resulting in injury; or events which cause the disruption of normal residential care community activity, such as threats or occurrences of extreme violence, explosions, fire or natural disasters.

3.22. Mental disorder. -- A mental illness that affects the well-being or behavior of an individual to such an extent that for his or her own welfare or the welfare of others, he or she requires treatment.

3.23. Neglect. -- Failure to provide for the necessities of daily living or the lack of care for significant medical problems.

3.24. Nursing care and nursing services. -- Those procedures commonly employed in providing for the physical, emotional and rehabilitation 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, care of decubitus ulcers, catheterizations, special procedures 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.

3.25. Nursing support staff. -- Registered professional nurses, practical nurses, and nursing assistants employed by the licensee to provide direct hands-on nursing services to residents.

3.26. Ongoing nursing care. -- The nursing care required when a deviation in health is expected to continue over a lengthy period of time, i.e., in excess of ninety (90) days, with minimal or no improvement.

3.27. Personal assistance. -- Personal services, including, but not limited to the following: help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding, getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of the resident.

3.28. Physical restraint. -- A device which physically limits, restricts, or deprives an individual of movement or mobility.

3.29. Registered long term care nursing assistant. -- Any individual who has met the requirements for entry in the long term care nursing assistant registry, established under the requirements of 42 CFR '' 483.150, 483.152 through 483.154, related to nurse aide training.

3.30. Restorative care. -- Care directed toward assisting a resident to achieve and maintain an optimal level of self-care and independence and providing assistance to residents in learning or relearning skills needed in everyday activities.

3.31. Secretary. -- The secretary of the state department of health and human resources or his or her lawful designee.

3.32. Self-administration of medications. -- The act of a resident, who is independently capable of reading and understanding the labels of drugs ordered by a physician, in opening and accessing prepackaged drug containers, accurately identifying and taking the correct dosage of the drugs as ordered by the physician, at the correct time and under the correct circumstances.

3.33. Self-preservation. -- The capability of, at least, removing one's physical self from situations involving imminent danger, such as fire.

3.34. Service plan. -- A written description of the services being provided to the resident to meet all of the needs identified in his or her functional needs assessment.

3.35. Supervision. -- The assumption of varying degrees of responsibility for the safety and well-being of residents including, but not limited, to the following: knowing the resident's location to the extent identified as a need by the resident functional needs assessment; monitoring through observation the activities of the resident while on the premises of the residential care community to ensure his or her health, safety and well-being; reminding the resident of any important activities of daily living and prescribed medication; purchasing of food and other supplies; meeting nutritional needs; arranging for or providing transportation as necessary; and other similar activities.

3.36. Supervision of self-administered medications. -- A personal service which includes reminding residents to take medication, opening medication containers for residents, reading the medication label to residents, observing residents while they take medication, checking the self-administered dose against the label on the container, and reassuring residents that they have obtained and are taking the dosage as prescribed.

¹Owners and administrators should note that the various types of legal representatives do not necessarily have the lawful authority to act on behalf of the resident in all matters that may require action by a legal representative. For example, a conservator may have responsibility for financial affairs, but not personal affairs, such as medical care.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 64-75-3