§321-15.62 Expanded adult residential care homes; licensing. (a) All expanded adult residential care homes shall be licensed to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the individuals placed therein. The department shall conduct visits and inspections pursuant to section 321-1.9.

(b) The director of health shall adopt rules regarding expanded adult residential care homes in accordance with chapter 91 that shall implement a social model of health care designed to:

(1) Protect the health, safety, civil rights, and rights of choice of residents in a nursing facility or in home- or community-based care;

(2) Provide for the licensing of expanded adult residential care homes for persons who are certified by the department of human services, a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or registered nurse case manager as requiring skilled nursing facility level or intermediate care facility level of care who have no financial relationship with the home care operator or facility staff; provided that the rules shall allow group living in the following two categories of expanded adult residential care homes as licensed by the department of health:

(A) A type I home shall consist of five or fewer residents with no more than two nursing facility level residents; provided that more nursing facility level residents may be allowed at the discretion of the department; and provided further that up to six residents may be allowed at the discretion of the department to live in a type I home; provided that the primary caregiver or home operator is a certified nurse aide who has completed a state-approved training program and other training as required by the department; and

(B) A type II home shall consist of six or more residents, with no more than twenty per cent of the home's licensed capacity as nursing facility level residents; provided that more nursing facility level residents may be allowed at the discretion of the department;

provided further that the department shall exercise its discretion for a resident presently residing in a type I or type II home, to allow the resident to remain as an additional nursing facility level resident based upon the best interests of the resident. The best interests of the resident shall be determined by the department after consultation with the resident, the resident's family, primary physician, case manager, primary caregiver, and home operator;

(3) Comply with applicable federal laws and regulations of title XVI of the Social Security Act, as amended; and

(4) Provide penalties for the failure to comply with any rule.

(c) The department may provide for the training of and consultations with operators and staff of any facility licensed under this section, in conjunction with any licensing thereof, and shall adopt rules to ensure that expanded adult residential care home operators shall have the needed skills to provide proper care and supervision in a home environment as required under department rules.

(d) The department shall establish a standard admission policy and procedure which shall require the provision of information that includes the appropriate medical and personal history of the patient as well as the level of care needed by the patient prior to the patient's referral and admission to any expanded adult residential care home facility. The department shall develop appropriate forms and patient summaries for this purpose.

(e) The department shall maintain an inventory of all facilities licensed under this section and shall maintain a current inventory of vacancies therein to facilitate the placement of individuals in such facilities. [L 1998, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2002, c 166, §4; am L 2006, c 270, §3; am L 2010, c 120, §1; am L 2010, c 120, §§1, 4; ree L 2014, c 9, §11; am L 2016, c 184, §4]

Law Journals and Reviews

Long-Term Care in Hawaii. 18 HBJ, no. 13, at 59 (2015).

The Wavering Line Between Medical Malpractice and Ordinary Negligence in Elder Abuse Litigation. 18 HBJ, no. 13, at 81 (2015).