Title IV, PUBLIC HEALTH (Ch. 123 - 158)

Judicial review of any action of the director may be sought in accordance with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A . Notwithstanding the terms of chapter 17A , petitions for judicial review may be filed in the district court of the county where the fac…

The department shall, in accordance with chapter 17A , adopt and enforce rules setting minimum standards for health care facilities. In so doing, the department may adopt by reference, with or without amendment, nationally recognized standards and rules, which shall be specified …

1. Any health care facility which is in operation at the time of adoption or promulgation of any applicable rules or minimum standards under this chapter shall be given reasonable time from the date of such promulgation to comply with such rules and minimum standards as provided …

1. In addition to the inspections required by sections 135C.9 and 135C.38 , the department shall make or cause to be made such further unannounced inspections as it deems necessary to adequately enforce this chapter . At least one general unannounced inspection shall be conducted…

1. Any of the following circumstances disqualifies an inspector from inspecting a particular health care facility under this chapter : a. The inspector currently works or, within the past two years, has worked as an employee or employment agency staff at the health care facility,…

It shall be the duty of the department of health and human services, office of long-term care ombudsman, and the officers and agents of other state and local governmental units, and the designated protection and advocacy agency to assist the department in carrying out the provisi…

The department may employ, pursuant to chapter 8A, subchapter IV , such assistants and inspectors as may be necessary to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter . [C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §135C.18 ] 2003 Acts, ch 145, §188

1. Following an inspection of a health care facility by the department pursuant to this chapter , the department’s final findings with respect to compliance by the facility with requirements for licensing shall be made available to the public in a readily available form and place…

1. The purpose of this chapter is to promote and encourage adequate and safe care and housing for individuals who are aged or who, regardless of age, are infirm, convalescent, or mentally or physically dependent, by both public and private agencies by providing for the adoption a…

The department shall prepare, publish and send to licensed health care facilities an annual report of its activities and operations under this chapter and such other bulletins containing fundamental health principles and data as may be deemed essential to assure proper operation …

1. The department shall develop and utilize a report card system for the recording of the findings of any inspection of a health care facility. The report card shall include but is not limited to a summary of the findings of the inspection, any violation found, any enforcement ac…

1. A governor’s award for quality care is established, to be awarded annually by the governor to a health care facility in the state which demonstrates provision of the highest quality care to residents. 2. The department shall adopt rules establishing the criteria to determine q…

1. Any person establishing, conducting, managing, or operating any health care facility without a license shall be guilty of a serious misdemeanor. Each day of continuing violation after conviction or notice from the department by certified mail of a violation shall be considered…

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to institutions operated by or under the control of the department of health and human services, the state board of regents, or any other governmental unit. [C50, 54, §135C.8; C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §135C.22 ] 83 Ac…

No individual shall be admitted to or permitted to remain in a health care facility as a resident, except in accordance with the requirements of this section . 1. Each resident shall be covered by a contract executed by the resident, or the resident’s legal representative, and th…

The admission of a resident to a health care facility and the resident’s presence therein shall not in and of itself confer on such facility, its owner, administrator, employees, or representatives any authority to manage, use, or dispose of any property of the resident, nor any …

The director shall be notified within twenty-four hours, by the most expeditious means available, of any accident causing major injury or death, and any fire or natural or other disaster occurring in a health care facility. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §135C.26 ]

If the department’s services are necessary in order to assist another governmental unit to implement a federal program, the department may accept in compensation for such services federal funds initially available from the federal government to such other governmental unit for su…

Provisions of this chapter in conflict with the state building code, as adopted pursuant to section 103A.7 , shall not apply where the state building code has been adopted or when the state building code applies throughout the state. [C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §135C.28 ] 2004 Acts, ch…

To facilitate the implementation of section 53.8, subsection 3 and section 53.22 , the director shall provide to each county commissioner of elections at least annually a list of each licensed health care facility in that county. The list shall include the street address or locat…

1. A licensed nursing facility shall provide an organized twenty-four-hour program of services commensurate with the needs of its residents and under the immediate direction of a licensed nurse. Medical and nursing services must be provided under the direction of either a house p…

When so authorized by section 135C.11, subsection 2 , or section 135C.12, subsection 1 , the director may file a verified application in the district court of the county where a health care facility licensed under this chapter is located, requesting that an individual nominated b…

A resident of a health care facility shall not be discharged solely because the cost of the resident’s care is being paid under chapter 249A or because the resident’s source of payment is changing from private support to payment under chapter 249A . [ 81 Acts, ch 60, §2 ] Referre…

1. A health care facility shall assist the Iowa department of veterans affairs in identifying, upon admission of a resident, the resident’s eligibility for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs. The department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, in…

The requirement that the care of a resident of a health care facility must be provided under the immediate direction of either the facility or the resident’s personal physician does not apply if all of the following conditions are met: 1. The resident is terminally ill. 2. The re…

1. a. For the purposes of this section , the term “crime” does not include offenses under chapter 321 classified as a simple misdemeanor or equivalent simple misdemeanor offenses from another jurisdiction. b. Prior to employment of a person in a facility or with a provider as spe…

The department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, in cooperation with other appropriate agencies, shall establish a procedure to allow a person who is certified as a medication aide in another state to become certified in this state upon completion and passage of both the ce…

1. Subject to the availability of funding, all nursing facility inspectors shall receive twelve hours of annual continuing education in gerontology, wound care, dementia, falls, or a combination of these subjects. 2. An inspector shall not be personally liable for financing the t…

1. Beginning July 1, 2023, and ending no later than June 30, 2026, the department shall impose for an initial period of twelve months a temporary moratorium on submission of applications for new construction of a nursing facility or a permanent change in bed capacity of a nursing…

No later than January 1, 2024, the department of health and human services shall develop a publicly available dashboard detailing the number of nursing facility beds available in the state, the overall quality rating of the available nursing facility beds as specified by the cent…

The department shall semiannually provide joint training sessions for inspectors and nursing facilities to review at least three of the ten most frequently issued federal citations in the state during the immediately preceding calendar year. The department shall develop a protoco…

Every violation by a health care facility of any provision of this chapter or of the rules adopted pursuant to it shall be classified by the department in accordance with this section . The department shall adopt and may from time to time modify, in accordance with chapter 17A , …

A person may request an inspection of a health care facility by filing with the department, certified volunteer long-term care ombudsman, or the office of long-term care ombudsman, a complaint of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of this chapter or the rules adopted…

1. a. Upon receipt of a complaint made in accordance with section 135C.37 , the department shall make a preliminary review of the complaint. Unless the department concludes that the complaint is intended to harass a facility or a licensee or is without reasonable basis, the depar…

No advance notice of an on-site inspection made pursuant to section 135C.38 shall be given the health care facility or the licensee thereof unless previously and specifically authorized in writing by the director or required by federal law. The person in charge of the facility sh…

1. Each facility licensed as a residential care facility shall provide an organized continuous twenty-four-hour program of care commensurate with the needs of the residents of the home and under the immediate direction of a person approved and certified by the department whose co…

1. If the director determines, based on the findings of an inspection or investigation of a health care facility, that the facility is in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter , the director within five working days after making the determination, may issu…

The department shall issue the final findings of an inspection or investigation of a health care facility within ten working days after completion of the on-site inspection or investigation. The final findings shall be served upon the facility personally, by electronic mail, or b…

Within twenty business days after service of a citation under section 135C.40 , a facility shall do one of the following: 1. If the facility does not desire to contest the citation, take one of the following actions: a. Remit to the department the amount specified by the departme…

1. The director shall provide an independent reviewer to hold an informal conference with the facility within ten working days after receipt of a request made under section 135C.41, subsection 2 , paragraph “a” . At the conclusion of the conference the independent reviewer may af…

1. A facility which has exhausted all adequate administrative remedies and is aggrieved by the final action of the department may petition for judicial review in the manner provided by chapter 17A . 2. Hearings on petitions for judicial review brought under this section shall be …

If a facility has been assessed a penalty, does not request a formal hearing pursuant to section 135C.41, subsection 2 , paragraph “b” , or withdraws its request for a formal hearing within thirty days of the date that the penalty was assessed, and the penalty is paid within thir…

The penalties authorized by section 135C.36 shall be trebled for a second or subsequent class I or class II violation occurring within any twelve-month period if a citation was issued for the same class I or class II violation occurring within that period and a penalty was assess…

The penalties authorized by section 135C.36 shall be doubled for each class I violation when the violation is due to an intentional act by the facility in violation of a provision of this chapter or a rule of the department. 2009 Acts, ch 156, §10

If at any time a contest or appeal of any citation issued a health care facility under this chapter results in an order or determination that a penalty previously paid to or collected by the department must be refunded to the facility, the refund shall be made from any money in t…

A person who notifies, or causes to be notified, a health care facility, of the time and date on which a survey or on-site inspection of the facility is scheduled, is subject to an administrative penalty of not less than one thousand dollars and not more than two thousand dollars…