Section 29-3252. REPORTS OF NURSE AIDE ABUSE, NEGLECT OR MISAPPROPRIATION OF PROPERTY

 

3252.1Each facility shall promptly notify the Department verbally of any alleged incident involving abuse or neglect of residents or misappropriation of residents' property by a nurse aide. The verbal notification shall include at least the name of the nurse aide and resident(s), and a description of the incident.

 

3252.2The facility shall submit to the Department written notice of the incident as soon as possible, but no later than seventy-two (72) hours after its occurrence.

 

3252.3The written notice shall contain the following information:

 

(a)Full name of nurse aide;

 

(b)Last known address, including telephone number;

 

(c)Social security number;

 

(d)Place of employment;

 

(e)Name, address and telephone number of person listed as emergency contact in employment records;

 

(f)Any know aliases;

 

(g)Certification numbers, if applicable;

 

(h)Race, sex, physical description, and date of birth, for identification purposes only; and

 

(i)A description of the incident including the names and location of the resident(s) and staff involved.

 

3252.4The Department shall investigate the incident as soon as possible, but no later than seventy-two (72) hours after receipt of the verbal notification. The investigation shall include the following:

 

(a)Interviews with the resident(s) and nurse aide, if possible;

 

(b)Review of the resident's record and other facility documents;

 

(c)Review of the nurse aide's employment record; and

 

(d)Interviews with facility staff.

 

3252.5The Department shall refer allegations of criminal conduct to the Metropolitan Police Department for investigation. The Department shall coordinate with the Metropolitan Police Department until the allegations are resolved.

 

3252.6The Department shall notify each nurse aide against whom allegations of misconduct have been made of the proposed findings from the investigation, and shall provide the nurse aide with an opportunity for a hearing to rebut the evidence that substantiates the allegations.

 

3252.7The notification to the nurse aide from the Department shall contain the following information:

 

(a)A description of the allegations made against the nurse aide;

 

(b)The proposed findings resulting from the investigation;

 

(c)A statement that the nurse aide has a right to request a hearing, in order to challenge the charges against him or her, by submitting a written request within twenty (20) days of the date of service of the notice on a prescribed form;

 

(d)Notification that his or her name will be listed in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry, as having knowingly abused or neglected a resident or misappropriated a resident's property while providing services in a facility, unless the nurse aide requests a hearing and disproves the charges against him or her;

 

(e)The consequences to the nurse aide of being listed in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry;

 

(f)A copy of the Request for Hearing Form; and

 

(g)Notification that, in lieu of requesting a hearing, the nurse aide has a right to submit a written rebuttal to the proposed findings, which will be made a part of the entry in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry, together with the findings of abuse.

 

3252.8The Department shall serve the notice upon the nurse aide by personal delivery; by leaving it at the nurse aide's usual residence with a person of suitable discretion at least sixteen (16) years of age residing there; or by sending the notice to the nurse aide via certified mail and regular mail to the last known address of the nurse aide reported to the Department pursuant to subsection 3250.3.

 

3252.9The Department shall maintain a copy of the notice, along with the certificate of the serving party or a copy of the stamped certified mail receipt, in its files.

 

3252.10Proof of service may be shown by the certificate of the serving party in the case of personal service, or by a return receipt if service is made by certified mail. If the nurse aide is no longer at the last known address shown by the records of the Department, and no forwarding address is available, service shall be deemed to have been made on the date the return receipt bearing that notification is received by the Director.

 

3252.11If the charges against the nurse aide are substantiated through the hearing process, or if the nurse aide waives his or her right to a hearing, the Department shall record the individual's name in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry. The entry shall include the following:

 

(a)Documentation of the Department's investigation, including the nature of the allegations, the evidence that led to the findings, and the specific findings against the nurse aide;

 

(b)The date of the hearing and its outcome; and

 

(c)A summary of the written rebuttal statement of the nurse aide, if he or she disputed the findings.

 

3252.12When the conduct of a nurse aide is recorded in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry, the Department shall send the name of the nurse aide to all administrators of nursing homes in the District of Columbia, along with:

 

(a)A copy of the hearing decision, if a hearing was held; or

 

(b)A copy of the Department's investigative findings and any rebuttal statement filed by the nurse aide, if the nurse aide waived the right to a hearing.

 

3252.13Information sent to nursing home administrators pursuant to subsection 3252.12 shall be sanitized to ensure resident confidentiality.

 

3252.14The Department shall also place the names of nurse aides convicted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for abuse, neglect or mistreatment of residents in the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry, along with the dates of their convictions.

 

source

Final Rulemaking Published at 38 DCR 2023 (April 5, 1991); as amended by Final Rulemaking Published at 49 DCR 3696 (April 19, 2002).