Connecticut General Statutes 19a-563 – Nursing homes and dementia special care units. Infection prevention and control specialists. Definitions. Requirements
(a) As used in this section and sections 19a-563a to 19a-563h, inclusive:
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 19a-563
- another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Public Health or the commissioner's designee. See Connecticut General Statutes 19a-490
- rest home: means a community residence that furnishes, in single or multiple facilities, food and shelter to two or more persons unrelated to the proprietor and, in addition, provides services that meet a need beyond the basic provisions of food, shelter and laundry and may qualify as a setting that allows residents to receive home and community-based services funded by state and federal programs. See Connecticut General Statutes 19a-490
(1) “Nursing home” means any chronic and convalescent nursing home or any rest home with nursing supervision that provides nursing supervision under a medical director twenty-four hours per day, or any chronic and convalescent nursing home that provides skilled nursing care under medical supervision and direction to carry out nonsurgical treatment and dietary procedures for chronic diseases, convalescent stages, acute diseases or injuries; and
(2) “Dementia special care unit” means the unit of any assisted living facility that locks, secures, segregates or provides a special program or unit for residents with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other similar disorder, in order to prevent or limit access by a resident outside the designated or separated area, or that advertises or markets the facility as providing specialized care or services for persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
(b) Each nursing home and dementia special care unit with more than sixty residents shall employ a full-time infection prevention and control specialist. Each nursing home and dementia special care unit with sixty residents or less shall employ a part-time infection prevention and control specialist. The infection prevention and control specialist shall be responsible for the following:
(1) Ongoing training of all administrators and employees of the nursing home or dementia special care unit on infection prevention and control using multiple training methods, including, but not limited to, in-person training and the provision of written materials in English and Spanish;
(2) The inclusion of information regarding infection prevention and control in the documentation that the nursing home or dementia special care unit provides to residents regarding their rights while in the home or unit and posting of such information in areas visible to residents;
(3) Participation as a member of the infection prevention and control committee of the nursing home or dementia special care unit and reporting to such committee at its regular meetings regarding the training he or she has provided pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection;
(4) The provision of training on infection prevention and control methods to supplemental or replacement staff of the nursing home or dementia special care unit in the event an infectious disease outbreak or other situation reduces the staffing levels of the home or unit; and
(5) Any other duties or responsibilities deemed appropriate for the infection prevention and control specialist, as determined by the nursing home or dementia special care unit.
(c) Each nursing home and dementia special care unit shall require its infection prevention and control specialist to implement procedures to monitor the infection prevention and control practice of each daily shift for purposes of ensuring compliance with relevant infection prevention and control standards.
(d) An infection prevention and control specialist may provide infection prevention and control services in accordance with the provisions of this section to both a nursing home and a dementia special care unit or to two nursing homes, provided (1) the nursing home and dementia special care unit, or the two nursing homes, are (A) adjacently located to or on the same campus as one another, and (B) commonly owned or operated, and (2) the owner or operator of such nursing home and dementia special care unit, or the two nursing homes, (A) submits a written request to the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner’s designee, in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, for such infection prevention and control specialist to provide infection prevention and control services in accordance with the provisions of this section, and (B) receives notification from the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner’s designee, that such written request is approved.
(e) The Commissioner of Public Health may waive any requirement of this section if the commissioner determines that doing so would not endanger the life, safety or health of any resident or employee of a nursing home or dementia special care unit. If the commissioner waives any requirement, the commissioner may impose conditions that assure the health, safety and welfare of the residents and employees of each nursing home and dementia special care unit or revoke such waiver if the commissioner finds that the health, safety or welfare of any resident or employee of a nursing home or dementia special care unit has been jeopardized by such waiver.