Georgia Administrative Code

(1) Any individual who is 18 years of age or older and of sound mind may give all or any part of his body for any purposes specified in Rule .04 of this Chapter, the gift to take effect upon death. (2) The parents, legal guardians, or other persons authorized or obligated to disp…

(1) Upon admission to any hospital, a person, at his request, may make an expression of his intention regarding the disposition of his body. Such expression shall be deemed to be sufficient notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-5-140 and this Chapter not to be contravened by opposition from…

(1) All hospitals shall establish, implement, and maintain written policies and procedures for requesting anatomical gifts on or before the occurrence of death in hospitals. The primary purpose of such policies and procedures shall be to inform persons specified in Rule .07(1)(c)…

(1) The following physicians shall not participate in the procedures for removing or transplanting parts: (a) The physician who becomes a donee; (b) The attending physician of the donor at his death or, if there is no attending physician, the physician who certifies the death. (2…

Hospitals shall establish, implement, and maintain appropriate hospital policies and procedures for assisting bank or storage facilities or other permissible donees in the delivery of donations to potential recipients. Such assistance shall include the use of available hospital s…

(1) A gift authorizes any examination necessary to assure medical suitability of the gift for the intended purposes. The suitability of anatomical gifts shall be determined by attending physicians or surgeons and may be made in conjunction with applicable types of banks or storag…

(1) Persons making requests for anatomical gifts shall relate to donors and families in a sensitive and caring manner and shall have received suitable training in the following areas: (a) psychological and emotional considerations when dealing with bereaved families; (b) social, …

Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following terms as used in these rules and regulations shall have the meaning hereafter respectively ascribed to them: (a) "Administrator" means an individual who is licensed by the Georgia State Board of Nursing Home Adm…

(1) Each facility shall establish written policies and procedures to provide that it complies with these rules and regulations and provides for implementation of these rules and regulations at the facility. Such written policies and procedures shall not conflict with the intent o…

(1) At or before being admitted to a facility, each resident and guardian, or representative if there is no guardian, must be given a copy of the written explanation of the resident's rights, grievance procedure and enforcement procedures. A staff member must also orally explain …

Residents shall be free from any duty to perform services for the facility and must be permitted to exercise all rights of citizenship and of personal choice in accordance with the following: (a) All residents legally eligible to vote must be permitted to vote in all primary, spe…

All residents shall enjoy privacy in their rooms and in their portions of any room which they share. (a) Staff shall not enter a resident's room without first making their presence known before entering unless such staff member has reason to believe that the resident is asleep or…

(1) Each resident must be permitted to retain and use his/her personal property in his/her immediate living quarters subject to space limitations and state and federal safety laws and regulations. (2) Upon request, the facility shall provide a means of securing the resident's pro…

Each resident must receive care, treatment and services which are adequate and appropriate for the condition of the resident, as determined by periodic review of each resident's treatment plan. Such care, treatment, and services must be provided with reasonable care and skill and…

Each resident or guardian shall have the right to refuse any aspect of medical treatment, dietary restriction or any medication, subject to the following: (a) When a resident or guardian makes such refusal such person shall be notified by the appropriate facility staff person or …

Each resident must be free from actual or threatened physical restraints, isolation or restrictions on mobility within or outside the facility grounds, including the use of drugs to limit mobility, activity and functional capacity or the use of any other restrictions, except to t…

Convenience to the facility shall not justify the suspension of any rights to individual residents. (a) Only the following rights may be temporarily suspended: 1. The right to rise and retire as the resident chooses, pursuant to .04(d) of these rules and regulations; 2. The right…

(1) In an emergency situation where the resident or other residents are subject to an imminent and substantial danger that only immediate transfer or discharge will relieve, the facility may involuntarily transfer the resident to another health facility. The person in charge shal…

No resident, resident's family, guardian or representative shall be coerced directly or indirectly into contributing to a resident, facility, staff person, or corporation or agency with any financial interest in the facility. (a) Free will contributions may be made for general or…

(1) Each resident or person requesting admission to a facility shall be free from discrimination by the facility through its refusing admission or continued residency on the basis of the resident's or applicant's history or condition of mental or physical disease or disability un…

Any resident, guardian or representative who believes his rights or, in the case of a guardian or representative, the rights of the resident, have been violated, may present a grievance. The grievance procedure shall be in accordance with the following: (a) The facility shall mai…

Any resident, guardian or representative or administrator who is dissatisfied with the decision of the impartial referee or any resident, guardian or representative who is unable to agree upon an impartial referee, or who be believes that any of his rights under these rules and r…

Any person or persons aggrieved because a long-term care facility has violated or failed to provide any rights granted under O.C.G.A. § 31-8-100et seq. or these rules and regulations shall have a cause of action against such facility for damages and such other relief as the court…

These rules are adopted and published pursuant to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 26-5-2et seq.

These rules shall be known as the Rules and Regulations for Narcotic Treatment Programs. The purpose of these rules is to provide for the licensing and inspection of narcotic treatment programs.

Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in these rules the term: (a) "Administrator" means the individual designated by the program's governing body who is responsible for the on-going and day-to-day operations of the program, for overall compliance with federal, state, an…

Each licensed program shall have a clearly identified governing body that accepts responsibility for operating the narcotic treatment program in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

No governing body may operate a narcotic treatment program in the state without first obtaining a license from the Department. (a) License. A license will be issued, upon presentation of evidence satisfactory to the Department, that the program is in compliance with these rules a…

(1) Provisional licenses may be issued for a period not to exceed 90 days to the governing body of a new narcotic treatment program that is in substantial compliance with these rules or of an existing program that is in substantial compliance with these rules as a result of havin…

(1) Mandatory Information Forum. Potential applicants must send at least one representative to attend the Information Forum which shall be held at least fourteen (14) days prior to the start of the Open Enrollment Period. Failure to attend the Information Forum shall disqualify a…

(1) The Department is authorized to conduct on-site inspections of any program to verify compliance with these rules and all relevant laws or regulations at any time. A program shall permit any authorized representative of the Department to enter upon and inspect any and all prog…

(1) Program Purpose. A licensed program shall operate, in accordance with these rules, under written policies and procedures that define its philosophy, purpose, program orientation, and procedures. Such policies and procedures must identify the types of drug-dependent individual…

(1) Staff Ratios and Responsibilities. The program shall have sufficient and appropriate types and numbers of staff to provide the treatment and services as required by applicable state law and regulation and as outlined in its program description. When the program is open to pro…

(1) A program shall be in compliance with all applicable local health, safety, sanitation, building, and zoning requirements. (2) A program shall be in compliance with all applicable laws and rules issued by the state fire marshal and the proper local fire marshal or state inspec…

(1) A program may only admit and retain patients whose known needs can be met by the program in accordance with its program purpose and description and applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Written policies and procedures for patient referral, intake, screening, asse…

A program must develop a preliminary individual treatment plan for each patient within 10 days of admission, which includes an initial treatment recommendation. A complete individual treatment plan for each patient must be developed within 30 days of admission. Patients must be i…

(1) A program must complete, in accordance with accepted standards of practice, an individual discharge and aftercare plan prior to discharge for patients who leave the program with notice. The patient and, as applicable, his or her parents, guardian, or responsible persons must …

Programs shall develop and implement written policies and procedures for prescription and administration of narcotic drugs and their security. These policies and procedures must include the following: (a) Administration. 1. The program physician shall determine the patient's init…

The program shall develop and implement written policies and procedures for random drug-screen tests. These policies and procedures will be for the purposes of assessing the patient abuse of drugs and making decisions about the patient's treatment. These policies and procedures m…

(1) Programs shall develop and implement a written quality improvement plan that provides for the delivery of care in accordance with accepted standards of practice. At a minimum, the plan must include the following areas: (a) A service delivery assessment that evaluates appropri…

(1) Programs shall develop and implement written policies and procedures regarding the rights and responsibilities of patients and the handling and resolution of complaints. These policies and procedures must include a written notice of rights and responsibilities provided to eac…

(1) To prevent simultaneous enrollment of a patient in more than one program, all programs shall participate in the Central Registry approved by the Department and operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and shall comply with any policies, p…

(1) A narcotic treatment program shall report to the Department within 24 hours and also follow the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities reporting protocol whenever any of the following incidents involving patients occurs or the program has reasonable ca…

(1) When the Department finds that an applicant for a license fails to fulfill the requirements of these rules, the Department may, subject to notice and opportunity for a hearing, refuse to grant the license. The Department is not required to hold a hearing prior to taking such …

(1) The Department may, in its discretion, grant variances and waivers of specific rules upon application or petition filed on forms provided by the Department. The Department may establish conditions which must be met by the program in order to operate under the variance or waiv…

In the event that any rule, sentence, clause, or phrase of any of these rules and regulations may be construed by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, unconstitutional, or otherwise unenforceable, such determination or adjudication shall in no manner affect…

Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following terms as used in these rules and regulations shall have the meaning hereafter respectively ascribed to them; except, however, same do not apply to nursing homes owned or operated by the Federal Government: (a) "…