(a)  The licensing agency shall make or cause to be made unannounced inspections and investigations of nursing facilities. The director shall establish by regulation criteria to determine the frequency for unannounced inspections and investigation that shall include specific criteria to determine the appropriate frequency of those surveys including, but not limited to: patient acuity; quality indicators; staff retention; financial status; and a facility’s past compliance with the regulations. In no instance shall any facility with a pattern of noncompliance with regulations or orders; indications of marginal financial status; repeated levels of nursing hours per resident significantly below the state average; or other risk factors determined to influence quality, receive less than two (2) surveys in addition to the annual licensing survey required by this chapter. Any nursing care facility that is cited for substandard care by the licensing agency shall be inspected on a bimonthly basis for the twelve-month (12) period immediately following any citation. The licensing agency shall, on an annual basis, cause no less than ten percent (10%) of all nursing care facility annual surveys to be conducted, in whole or in part, on nights and/or on weekends. The inspections shall be conducted both as to profit and nonprofit facilities and the results shall be open to public inspection; however, requirements as to the fire safety code will be deferred in accordance with § 23-28.1-7.

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(b)  No employee or agent of the department shall be participating in or supervising an inspection of any facility to which that employee currently has, or in the past two (2) years has had, any ownership, employment, or consultant arrangement or any other potential conflicts of interest. The restrictions imposed under this subsection shall be in addition to, and not in place of, the requirements of chapter 14 of Title 36.

(c)  The licensing agency shall make or cause to be made unannounced inspections and/or investigations of any establishment, facility, boarding house, dormitory, however named, to determine whether the lodging facility should be licensed and regulated under the provisions of this chapter.

(d)  All members of the general assembly and any general officer of this state may make announced and unannounced inspections of extended care facilities, skilled nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, personal care homes, nursing homes, and state institutions.