(a) The Department of Public Health shall receive, investigate and prosecute complaints against individuals who are providing or have provided services as a nurse's aide in a chronic and convalescent nursing home or rest home with nursing supervision. The grounds for complaint shall include resident abuse, resident neglect, misappropriation of resident property, and fraud or deceit in obtaining or attempting to obtain a registration as a nurse's aide. A nurse's aide shall be given written notice by certified mail by the commissioner of any complaint against him or her. A nurse's aide who wishes to appeal a complaint against him or her shall, not later than thirty days after the date of the mailing, file with the department a request in writing for a hearing to contest the complaint. The commissioner shall render a finding on such complaint, and, if a hearing is requested, it shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 54. The commissioner shall have the authority to render a finding and enter such finding on the registry against an individual who is providing or has provided services as a nurse's aide in a chronic and convalescent nursing home or rest home with nursing supervision, without regard to whether such individual is on the registry or has obtained registration as a nurse's aide from the department.

(b) In the case of a finding of resident neglect made after January 1, 1995, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, a nurse's aide may petition the commissioner to have the finding removed from the registry upon a determination by the commissioner that: (1) The employment and personal history of the nurse's aide does not reflect a pattern of abusive behavior or neglect; and (2) the neglect involved in the original finding was a singular occurrence. In no case shall a determination on a petition submitted under this subsection be made prior to the expiration of a one-year period beginning on the date on which the finding was added to the registry pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(P.A. 93-121, S. 4, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-271, S. 28, 40; P.A. 98-250, S. 1, 39; P.A. 03-252, S. 11.)

History: P.A. 93-121 effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 and P.A. 93-435 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of public health and addiction services for commissioner and department of health services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-271 required notice by certified mail and allowed a request for a hearing to contest the complaint, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 98-250 added Subsec. (b) re petition to have a finding removed from the registry, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 03-252 amended Subsec. (a) to change deadline for appeal of a complaint from within 30 days of the date of the notice to not later than 30 days after the date of mailing and to make conforming and technical changes.

Subsec. (a):

“Resident abuse” requires that resident suffer harm or adverse impact as a result of alleged abuse, and, in making that determination, an objective, rather than subjective, standard should be applied; “resident abuse” requires an element of wilfulness and is satisfied when one voluntarily engages in the act resulting in the abuse; specific intent to harm is not required. 259 C. 288.