7 AAC 12 — Facilities and Local Units (Article 1 to 12)

(a) A home health agency shall, in consultation with the patient and the patient's attending physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant, develop a plan of care for each patient accepted by the agency. The plan of care must (1) be reviewed, as often as t…

A home health agency may accept a patient for treatment only if there is a reasonable expectation that the patient's needs will be met adequately by the home health agency in the patient's place of residence. A home health agency may not accept a patient for treatment if that pat…

The home health agency administrator shall designate a physician or registered nurse to serve as that agency's director of clinical services. The director of clinical services shall (1) supervise the agency's professional service providers; (2) be available at all times for consu…

(a) A home health agency shall furnish nursing services in accordance with a plan of care by or under the supervision of a registered nurse licensed under AS 08.68. A registered nurse employed by a home health agency shall (1) assure that patient care is coordinated between servi…

(a) If a home health agency provides home health aide services, those services must be provided(1) by a home health aide who (A) is a nurse aide certified by the Board of Nursing under AS 08.68.331-08.68.336; (B) does not appear in the registry of certified nurse aides under AS 0…

(a) Physical therapy services offered by a home health agency must be provided in accordance with a plan of care by or under the supervision of a physical therapist licensed under AS 08.84. A physical therapist employed by or on contract with a home health agency shall (1) evalua…

(a) If a home health agency offers medical social services, the services must be delivered in accordance with the patient's plan of care by, or under the supervision of, a social worker who has (1) a master's degree from a school of social work accredited by the National Council …

If a plan of care requires the consultation or direct services of a dietitian, the home health agency must ensure that those services are provided by a dietitian registered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association. A dietitian providing serv…

(a) A home health agency shall maintain a separate area for processing, decontamination, if necessary, and storage of sterile supplies and materials. (b) A home health agency shall develop and implement policies and procedures for (1) the cleaning, antimicrobial processing, and s…

(a) If a home health agency provides parenteral or hyperalimentation services, the agency shall (1) describe the scope of the services to be provided, including the population to be served; (2) develop a plan for emergency services to meet the scope of the services provided; and …

(a) A home health agency shall establish, implement, and make available to all personnel, written policies and procedures appropriate to the services offered by the agency. These policies and procedures must be reviewed at least annually and revised as necessary. (b) A home healt…

(a) The governing body of a home health agency shall protect and promote the rights of its home health patients, by assuring that (1) before services are provided, the patient and the patient's family are informed orally and in writing, in a language the patient and family unders…

(a) Before initiating care or services, a home health agency must provide each patient, 18 years of age or older, or their legal representatives, with forms and information on (1) the right of the individual to make health care decisions, including the right to (A) accept or refu…

(a) A home health agency shall develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit abuse, neglect, and mistreatment of patients. (b) An agency shall (1) screen a potential employee or contractor to prevent the employment of an individual who has been convicted of …

(a) If ordered by the patient's physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant, a drug may be administered to a patient by an employee or a contractor of the home health agency who is authorized to administer drugs by law. (b) An employee or a contractor of…

If a home health agency uses its own equipment to monitor a patient's whole blood glucose levels, the agency must test and calibrate the machine according to the manufacturer's recommendations. If a patient has whole blood glucose equipment, the home health agency must teach the …

(a) A home health agency shall maintain a clinical record for each patient. The clinical record must be legible and maintained in accordance with accepted professional or occupational standards. The clinical record must be readily available upon the request of the (1) attending p…

(a) A home health agency may contract with another facility or agent to perform services or provide resources to the agency. The services provided under contract that are regulated under 7 AAC 12.500 - 7 AAC 12.590 must meet the requirements of this chapter. (b) A home health age…

(a) A home health agency shall have a risk management program that includes a procedure to investigate, analyze, and respond to patient grievances related to patient care. (b) A home health agency shall conduct, in each service area, an orientation program for each new employee a…

(a) A home health agency shall develop and implement written policies and procedures applicable to all agency staff that (1) minimize the risk of transmitting infection in all patient care or services; and (2) provide for the safe handling and disposal of biohazardous and infecti…

A home health agency shall have an employee health program that meets the requirements of 7 AAC 12.650. Notes 7 AAC 12.571 Eff. 9/6/96, Register 139; am 3/17/2022, Register 241, April 2022 Authority:AS 18.05.040 AS 47.32.010 AS 47.32.030

In 7 AAC 12.500 - 7 AAC 12.590, unless the context requires otherwise, (1) "'abuse" means the infliction of physical pain or injury, the infliction of mental anguish that requires medical attention, or the deprivation by a caretaker of services that are necessary to maintain the …

(a) Unless indicated otherwise in this chapter, a facility required to be licensed under AS 47.32 and this chapter must comply with the provisions of 7 AAC 10.9500 - 7 AAC 10.9535 (General Variance Procedures), 7 AAC 10.9600 - 7 AAC 10.9620 (Inspections and Investigations), 7 AAC…

An entity listed in AS 47.32.0l0(b) that is required to be licensed under AS 47.32 and this chapter must also comply with the applicable requirements of AS 47.05.300 - 47.05.390 and 7 AAC 10.900 - 7 AAC 10.990 (barrier crimes and conditions; background checks. Notes 7 AAC 12.605 …

(a) Unless exempt under 7 AAC 12.611, before an individual or entity may operate a facility subject to AS 47.32 and this chapter, the individual or entity must obtain a license from the department under AS 47.32 and this section. The department may bring an action to enjoin the o…

(a) Unless operating as a frontier extended stay clinic under 7 AAC 12.450 - 7 AAC 12.490, a rural health clinic, including a community health center and a federally qualified health center, is exempt from the licensure requirements of AS 47.32 and this chapter. (b) A facility ow…

(a) In addition to 7 AAC 12.610, the provisions of this section apply to the licensure of critical access hospitals. (b) A hospital must hold a current license, or must have held a license at any time on or after November 29, 1999, as either a general acute care hospital or a rur…

(a) An application under AS 47.32.040 from a facility for a license must be accompanied by the following fees to cover the provisional licensure period: (1) for a hospital: $2,000, plus $85 per bed; (2) for a nursing facility within the meaning given in AS 47.32.900: $1,000, plus…

(a) The department will inspect each facility and conduct investigations as provided in AS 47.32, 7 AAC 10.9600 - 7 AAC 10.9620, and this chapter. (b) Except for enforcement actions under AS 47.32.130, the department will, before delivering a report under AS 47.32.120 and if requ…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of birth centers, hospice agencies that do not provide inpatient care on agency premises, and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, must have a governing body that assumes responsibility for implementing and monitoring polic…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of birth centers, intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, home health agencies, hospice agencies that do not provide inpatient care on agency premises, and ambulatory surgical facilities must comply with the provisions of this…

(a) A facility must establish and maintain an employee health program that (1) provides tuberculosis education, screening, testing, evaluation, and treatment in accordance with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (…

(a) A facility must plan and retain records of employee orientation, in-service training programs, and employee supervision. In addition, the facility must maintain for each employee a file that includes (1) a current job description; (2) a copy of the employee's current license …

(a) A licensed nurse shall write a patient care plan for each patient in consultation with other patient care personnel and the patient. (b) The patient care plan must reflect analysis of patient problems and needs, treatment goals, medication prescribed and, upon discharge, inst…

(a) A facility which dispenses drugs must employ a pharmacist on a regular or consultant basis. The pharmacist shall perform the following duties: (1) procure, label, and maintain a sufficient quantity of drugs to meet patient needs at all times; (2) inventory emergency drugs eve…

(a) A facility that provides physical therapy services must retain, as an employee or under contract as a consultant of the facility, a physical therapist licensed under AS 08.84. If treatment is to be rendered by a physical therapy assistant, the physical therapy assistant must …

(a) A facility that provides social work services must retain a social worker licensed under AS 08.95 as an employee or consultant of the facility. The social worker shall (1) regularly assess the social service needs for each patient, resident, or client, implementing the plan o…

(a) A facility which provides occupational therapy services must retain an occupational therapist as an employee or consultant of the facility. (b) Repealed 5/28/92. (c) An occupational therapist shall directly supervise assistants. Notes 7 AAC 12.710 Eff. 11/19/83, Register 88; …

(a) A facility that provides dietetic services, with the exception of frontier extended stay clinics, must comply with the provisions of this section. (b) Except as provided in (p) and (q) of this section, a facility must employ (1) a full-time dietitian who is registered by the …

(a) If a facility processes sterilized instruments and supplies, it must meet the requirements in this section. If a facility receives sterilized instruments and supplies from another entity through contract or agreement, the facility must ensure the contractor meets the requirem…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of home health agencies, frontier extended stay clinics, and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, must provide a laundry service. (b) A facility must develop and implement written procedures for handling, processing, storag…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of home health agencies and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, must provide a housekeeping service. (b) A facility must have routine cleaning procedures for furniture, floors, walls, ceilings, supply and exhaust grills, a…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of home health agencies and hospice agencies that do not provide inpatient care on agency premises, must have an infection control committee. (b) The administrator or medical staff shall appoint an infection control committee composed of repr…

(a) Each facility, with the exception of home health agencies, hospice agencies, intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, and birth centers, must have a medical record service that complies with the applicable provisions of this section. A frontier extended stay cl…

(a) A facility that provides radiological services, with the exception of frontier extended stay clinics, must comply with the requirements of this section. (b) If a facility which provides radiological services does not have a radiologist on its staff, a radiologist must provide…

(a) A facility that provides laboratory services must comply with 7 AAC 12.790 - 7 AAC 12.850 and must meet the requirements of 42 C.F.R. Part 493, Laboratory Requirements, as revised as of October 1, 2005, and adopted by reference. (b) A facility must have and maintain written p…

A laboratory specimen may be referred and mailed only to an approved laboratory. The mailing containers to be used must be provided by the laboratory to which the specimens are sent. Notes 7 AAC 12.830 Eff. 11/19/83, Register 88 Authority:AS 47.32.010 AS 47.32.030