Minnesota Statutes 245F.14 – Staffing Requirements and Duties
Subdivision 1.Program director.
A license holder must employ or contract with a person, on a full-time basis, to serve as program director. The program director must be responsible for all aspects of the facility and the services delivered to the license holder’s patients. An individual may serve as program director for more than one program owned by the same license holder.
Subd. 2.Responsible staff person.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 245F.14
- Alcohol and drug counselor: means an individual qualified under section 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Direct patient contact: has the meaning given for "direct contact" in section 245C. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Medical director: means an individual licensed in Minnesota by the Board of Medical Practice as a doctor of osteopathic medicine, physician, or physician assistant, or an individual licensed in Minnesota as an advanced practice registered nurse by the Board of Nursing and certified to practice as a clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner by a national nurse organization acceptable to the board. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Nurse: means a person licensed and currently registered to practice practical or professional nursing as defined in section 148. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Patient: means an individual who presents or is presented for admission to a withdrawal management program that meets the criteria in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Program director: means the individual who is designated by the license holder to be responsible for all operations of a withdrawal management program and who meets the qualifications specified in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Responsible staff person: means the program director, the medical director, or a staff person with current licensure as a nurse in Minnesota. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Technician: means a person who meets the qualifications in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Withdrawal management program: means a licensed program that provides short-term medical services on a 24-hour basis for the purpose of stabilizing intoxicated patients, managing their withdrawal, and facilitating access to substance use disorder treatment as indicated by a comprehensive assessment. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 245F.14
- Alcohol and drug counselor: means an individual qualified under section 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Direct patient contact: has the meaning given for "direct contact" in section 245C. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Medical director: means an individual licensed in Minnesota by the Board of Medical Practice as a doctor of osteopathic medicine, physician, or physician assistant, or an individual licensed in Minnesota as an advanced practice registered nurse by the Board of Nursing and certified to practice as a clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner by a national nurse organization acceptable to the board. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Nurse: means a person licensed and currently registered to practice practical or professional nursing as defined in section 148. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Patient: means an individual who presents or is presented for admission to a withdrawal management program that meets the criteria in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Program director: means the individual who is designated by the license holder to be responsible for all operations of a withdrawal management program and who meets the qualifications specified in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Responsible staff person: means the program director, the medical director, or a staff person with current licensure as a nurse in Minnesota. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Technician: means a person who meets the qualifications in section 245F. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
- Withdrawal management program: means a licensed program that provides short-term medical services on a 24-hour basis for the purpose of stabilizing intoxicated patients, managing their withdrawal, and facilitating access to substance use disorder treatment as indicated by a comprehensive assessment. See Minnesota Statutes 245F.02
During all hours of operation, a license holder must designate a staff member as the responsible staff person to be present and awake in the facility and be responsible for the program. The responsible staff person must have decision-making authority over the day-to-day operation of the program as well as the authority to direct the activity of or terminate the shift of any staff member who has direct patient contact.
Subd. 3.Technician required.
A license holder must have one technician awake and on duty at all times for every ten patients in the program. A license holder may assign technicians according to the need for care of the patients, except that the same technician must not be responsible for more than 15 patients at one time. For purposes of establishing this ratio, all staff whose qualifications meet or exceed those for technicians under section 245F.15, subdivision 6, and who are performing the duties of a technician may be counted as technicians. The same individual may not be counted as both a technician and an alcohol and drug counselor.
Subd. 4.Registered nurse required.
A license holder must employ or contract with a registered nurse, who must be available 24 hours a day by telephone or in person for consultation. The registered nurse is responsible for:
(1) establishing and implementing procedures for the provision of nursing care and delegated medical care, including:
(i) a health monitoring plan;
(ii) a medication control plan;
(iii) training and competency evaluations for staff performing delegated medical and nursing functions;
(iv) handling serious illness, accident, or injury to patients;
(v) an infection control program; and
(vi) a first aid kit;
(2) delegating nursing functions to other staff consistent with their education, competence, and legal authorization;
(3) assigning, supervising, and evaluating the performance of nursing tasks; and
(4) implementing condition-specific protocols in compliance with section 151.37, subdivision 2.
Subd. 5.Medical director required.
A license holder must have a medical director available for medical supervision. The medical director is responsible for ensuring the accurate and safe provision of all health-related services and procedures. A license holder must obtain and document the medical director’s annual approval of the following procedures before the procedures may be used:
(1) admission, discharge, and transfer criteria and procedures;
(2) a health services plan;
(3) physical indicators for a referral to a physician, registered nurse, or hospital, and procedures for referral;
(4) procedures to follow in case of accident, injury, or death of a patient;
(5) formulation of condition-specific protocols regarding the medications that require a withdrawal regimen that will be administered to patients;
(6) an infection control program;
(7) protective procedures; and
(8) a medication control plan.
Subd. 6.Alcohol and drug counselor.
A withdrawal management program must provide one full-time equivalent alcohol and drug counselor for every 16 patients served by the program.
Subd. 7.Ensuring staff-to-patient ratio.
The responsible staff person under subdivision 2 must ensure that the program does not exceed the staff-to-patient ratios in subdivisions 3 and 6 and must inform admitting staff of the current staffed capacity of the program for that shift. A license holder must have a written policy for documenting staff-to-patient ratios for each shift and actions to take when staffed capacity is reached.