House Bill No. 301

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring a minimum staff-to-patient ratio for certain residents of a long-term care facility equal to the ratio required for child-care facilities caring for newborn infants; and providing an applicability date."

STATEMENT OF INTENT

A statement of intent is required for this bill because [section 1] requires the department of public health and human services to adopt rules to implement [section 1].

It is the intent of the legislature that the department of public health and human services adopt rules specifying the minimum requirements for education, training, and type of professional or occupational licensure, if any, that staff members of a long-term care facility referred to in [section 1] are required to satisfy and the times when those staff members must be present for duty in a facility.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Long-term care facility -- minimum staffing ratio -- licensing -- rules required. (1) A long-term care facility shall provide a minimum staff-to-patient ratio with regard to a resident of the facility whose needs for care are assessed by the facility to be equal to the needs for care of a newborn infant. The assessment may be pursuant to either the minimum data set or the patient assessment in the subject areas of activities of daily living, behavioral status, and continence or the equivalent of those subject areas. The minimum staff-to-patient ratio must be equal to the staff-to-patient ratio adopted by department rule pursuant to 52-2-731 for child-care facilities providing care to infants age 0 to 24 months old.

(2) The department shall apply the requirements of subsection (1) as one of the minimum standards for the issuance or renewal of a license to a long-term care facility pursuant to 50-5-204.

(3) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 50, chapter 5, part 2, and the provisions of Title 50, chapter 5, part 2, apply to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Applicability. [Section 1] applies to licenses for long-term care facilities issued or renewed by the department of public health and human services pursuant to 50-5-204 after October 1, 1997.

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