§2009.1. Rules and regulations; nursing home advisory committee

A. All nursing homes are under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Department of Health.

B. There is hereby created a nursing home advisory committee composed of eleven members, six of whom shall be appointed by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health as hereinafter provided and five of whom shall be ex officio members as hereinafter designated.

C.(1)(a) Four of the six appointed members of the committee shall be chosen from the nursing home profession from a list of eight names submitted by the Louisiana Health Care Association.

(b) One of the remaining appointed members of the committee shall be chosen from members of the nursing home profession operating a nonprofit nursing home from a list of three names submitted by the Louisiana Association for Homes for the Aging.

(c) The remaining appointed member shall be a licensed physician in private practice chosen from a list of four physicians provided by the Louisiana State Medical Society.

(d) These members shall serve terms to coincide with the term of the governor.

(2) Ex officio members of the committee shall be:

(a) The assistant secretary of the office of public health.

(b) The undersecretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.

(c) The assistant secretary of the office of family security.

(d) The chairman of the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Nursing Facility Administrators.

(e) The assistant secretary of the office of state fire marshal, or their respective designees.

D. It shall be the duty of the nursing home advisory committee to study the requirements and regulations of the Louisiana Department of Health and the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare or its successor, as published in the Federal Register, in relation to the establishment of minimum standards of maintenance and operations of nursing homes, and interpret such regulations as apply to the administration and operation of nursing homes. The Louisiana Department of Health shall then review such interpretations and submit proposed rule changes to the committee for review prior to the publication of any notice of intended action in the Louisiana Register and Louisiana Journal as provided for in R.S. 49:953(A)(1).

E. If the nursing home advisory committee to which the above-mentioned proposed rule changes are submitted determines that a proposed rule change is unacceptable, the notice of intended action, as provided for in R.S. 49:953(A)(1), shall not be published in the Louisiana Register or the Louisiana Journal until such time as the committee and the department determine that the proposed rule changes are acceptable; but in no case shall the period between submission of proposed rule changes to the committee and a determination of acceptability exceed twenty calendar days. If, however, the committee and the Louisiana Department of Health can reach no determination of acceptability on a proposed rule change within the above mentioned twenty calendar days, the notice of intended action may be published in the Louisiana Register and Louisiana Journal in accordance with R.S. 49:953(A)(1).

F. Members of the committee shall receive no compensation or per diem for their services. The travel of the ex officio members shall be paid in accordance with state travel regulations by the respective departments or agencies of which they are officers or employees.

G. The committee shall elect a chairman from the six members appointed by the secretary. One of the ex officio members shall serve as secretary. The committee shall hold such meetings as are necessary to effectuate its purposes and shall meet upon call of the chairman or upon the request of any two members.

Added by Acts 1958, No. 188, §1. Amended by Acts 1964, No. 170, §3; Acts 1970, No. 541, §1; Acts 1977, No. 680, §6; Acts 1983, No. 400, §1; Acts 2012, No. 811, §14, eff. July 1, 2012; Acts 2018, No. 206, §4.