10A NCAC 13B .1902. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions shall apply throughout this Section, unless text otherwise clearly indicates to the contrary:

(1)           "Accident" means something occurring by chance or without intention which has caused physical or mental harm to a patient, resident or employee.

(2)           "Administer" means the direct application of a drug to the body of a patient by injection, inhalation, ingestion or other means.

(3)           "Administrator" means the person who has authority for and is responsible to the governing board for the overall operation of a facility.

(4)           "Brain injury long‑term care" is defined as an interdisciplinary, intensive maintenance program for patients who have incurred brain damage caused by external physical trauma and who have completed a primary course of rehabilitative treatment and have reached a point of no gain or progress for more than three consecutive months.  Services are provided through a medically supervised interdisciplinary process and are directed toward maintaining the individual at the optimal level of physical, cognitive and behavioral functioning.

(5)           "Capacity" means the maximum number of patient or resident beds which the facility is licensed to maintain at any given time.  This number shall be determined as follows:

(a)           Bedrooms shall have minimum square footage of 100 square feet for a single bedroom and 80 square feet per patient or resident in multi‑bedded rooms.  This minimum square footage shall not include space in toilet rooms, washrooms, closets, vestibules, corridors, and built‑in furniture.

(b)           Dining, recreation and common use areas available shall total no less than 25 square feet per bed for skilled nursing and intermediate care beds and no less than 30 square feet per bed for adult care home beds.  Such space must be contiguous to patient and resident bedrooms.

(6)           "Combination Facility" means any hospital with nursing home beds which is licensed to provide more than one level of care such as a combination of intermediate care and/or skilled nursing care and adult care home care.

(7)           "Convalescent Care" means care given for the purpose of assisting the patient or resident to regain health or strength.

(8)           "Department" means the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

(9)           "Director of Nursing" means the nurse who has authority and direct responsibility for all nursing services and nursing care.

(10)         "Dispense" means preparing and packaging a prescription drug or device in a container and labeling the container with information required by state and federal law.  Filling or refilling drug containers with prescription drugs for subsequent use by a patient is "dispensing".  Providing quantities of unit dose prescription drugs for subsequent administration is "dispensing".

(11)         "Drug" means substances:

(a)           recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them;

(b)           intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals;

(c)           intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals, i.e., substances other than food; and

(d)           intended for use as a component of any article specified in (a), (b), or (c) of this Subparagraph; but does not include devices or their components, parts, or accessories.

(12)         "Duly Licensed" means holding a current and valid license as required under the General Statues of North Carolina.

(13)         "Existing Facility" means a licensed facility; or a proposed facility, proposed addition to a licensed facility or proposed remodeled licensed facility that will be built according to plans and specifications which have been approved by the department through the preliminary working drawings stage prior to the effective date of this Rule.

(14)         "Exit Conference" means the conference held at the end of a survey, inspection or investigation, but prior to finalizing the same, between the department's representatives who conducted the survey, inspection or investigation and the facility administration representative(s).

(15)         "Incident" means an intentional or unintentional action, occurrence or happening which is likely to cause or lead to physical or mental harm to a patient, resident or employee.

(16)         "Licensed Practical Nurse" means a nurse who is duly licensed as a practical nurse under G.S. 90, Article 9A.

(17)         "Licensee" means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or organization to whom a license has been issued.

(18)         "Medication" means drug as defined in (12) of this Rule.

(19)         "New Facility" means a proposed facility, a proposed addition to an existing facility or a proposed remodeled portion of an existing facility that is constructed according to plans and specifications approved by the department subsequent to the effective date of this Rule.  If determined by the department that more than one half of an existing facility is remodeled, the entire existing facility shall be considered a new facility.

(20)         "Nurse Aide" means any individual providing nursing or nursing‑related services to patients in a facility, and is not a licensed health professional, a qualified dietitian or someone who volunteers to provide such services without pay, and who is listed in a nurse aide registry approved by the Department.

(21)         "Nurse Aide Trainee" means an individual who has not completed an approved nurse aide training course and competency evaluation and is demonstrating knowledge, while performing tasks for which they have been found proficient by an instructor. These tasks shall be performed under the direct supervision of a registered nurse. The term does not apply to volunteers.

(22)         "Nursing Facility" means that portion of a nursing home certified under Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) as in compliance with federal program standards for nursing facilities.  It is often used as synonymous with the term "nursing home" which is the usual prerequisite level for state licensure for nursing facility (NF) certification and Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) certification.

(23)         "Nurse in Charge" means the nurse to whom duties for a specified number of patients and staff for a specified period of time have been delegated, such as for Unit A on the 7‑3 or 3‑11 shift.

(24)         "On Duty" means personnel who are awake, dressed, responsive to patient needs and physically present in the facility performing assigned duties.

(25)         "Patient" means any person admitted for care to a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility.

(26)         "Physician" means a person licensed under G.S. Chapter 90, Article 1 to practice medicine in North Carolina.

(27)         "Qualified Dietitian" means a person who meets the standards and qualifications established by the Committee on Professional Registration of the American Dietetic Association included in "Standards of Practice" seven dollars and twenty-five cents ($7.25) or "Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics" two dollars and fifteen cents ($2.15), American Dietetic Association, 216 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60606‑6995.

(28)         "Registered Nurse" means a nurse who is duly licensed as a registered nurse under G.S. 90, Article 9A.

(29)         "Resident" means any person admitted for care to an adult care home.

(30)         "Sitter" means an individual employed to provide companionship and social interaction to a particular resident or patient, usually on a private duty basis.

(31)         "Supervisor‑in‑Charge" means a duly licensed nurse to whom supervisory duties have been delegated by the Director of Nursing.

(32)         "Ventilator dependence" means physiological dependency by a patient on the use of a ventilator for more than eight hours a day.

 

History Note:        Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. October 1, 1990 For a Period of 142 Days to Expire on February 28, 1991;

Authority G.S. 131E‑79;

Eff. February 1, 1986;

Amended Eff. February 1, 1993; December 1, 1991; March 1, 1991; March 1, 1990.