007.05.02 Ark. Code R. § 001 Rules For Hospitals and Related Institutions In Arkansas ("hospital Rules")

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Citation: 007.05.02 Ark. Code R. § 001
• Year: 2023

SECTION 1: AUTHORITY. The following Rules and Regulations for Hospitals and Related Institutions in Arkansas are duly adopted and promulgated by the Arkansas State Board of Health pursuant to the authority expressly conferred by the laws of the State of Arkansas in Act 414 of 1961, as amended by Act 258 of 1971, Act 190 of 1975, Act 536 of 1977, Act 273 of 1983, Act 980 of 1985, and Act 516 of 1987, along with Acts 143 of 1987, 348 of 1987, and 399 of 1987 covered under these regulations.

SECTION 2: PURPOSE. These rules and regulations have been prepared for the purpose of establishing a criterion for minimum standards for licensure, operation and maintenance of hospitals and related institutions in Arkansas that is consistent with current trends in patient care practices. By necessity they are of a regulatory nature but are considered to be practical minimum design and operational standards for these facilities. These standards are not static and are subject to periodic revisions in the future as new knowledge and changes in patient care trends become apparent. However, it is expected that facilities will exceed these minimum requirements and that they shall not be dependent upon future revisions in these standards as a necessary prerequisite for improved services. Hospitals and related institutions have a strong moral responsibility for providing optimum patient care and treatment for the populations they serve.

SECTION 3: DEFINITIONS. The word shall as used in these regulations means mandatory.

A. Administrator means the person responsible for the management of any facility requiring licensure under these regulations.

B. Department means the Arkansas Department of Health.

C. Director means the Chief Administrative Officer in the Division of Health Facility Services.

D. Division means the Division of Health Facility Services.

E. Licensee means the person to whom a license is issued for the purpose of operating the institution described in the application for licensure, who shall be responsible for maintaining approved standards for the institution of any state, county, or local government unit and any division, board, or agency thereof.

F. State Health Officer means the Secretary of the State Board of Health The following categories of facilities (G.-Q.), as defined herein, established for the purpose of providing inpatient diagnostic care and treatment for more than twenty-four (24) hours for two (2) or more persons not related to the proprietor, may not be conducted or maintained in this state without being licensed:

G. Alcohol/Drug Abuse Inpatient Treatment Centers means a facility, or distinct part of a facility, in which services are provided for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abuse; a facility which provides only counseling and room and board is not included in this definition 1. For the purpose of these regulations an alcohol/drug abuse treatment center is a facility (either licensed as a hospital or an established diagnostic unit of an acute psychiatric or rehabilitation hospital) or a free-standing unit in which services are provided over a continuous period, exceeding twenty-four (24) hours for two (2) or more persons not related to the proprietor for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abuse. 2. Alcohol and drug abuse inpatient center regulations are to be applied in conjunction with the Rules and Regulations for Hospitals and Related Institutions in Arkansas where applicable. (See Section 45, Alcohol/Drug Abuse Inpatient Treatment Centers.) 3. The requirements established for alcohol/drug abuse inpatient treatment centers shall not be construed as changes in the requirements already established for licensing of any health care facility as delineated in these regulations.

H. Critical Access Hospital means a hospital that meets the following statutory requirements in Arkansas 1. Classified as a nonprofit or public hospital located in a rural area that is: a. Located more than a thirty-five (35) mile drive (or, in the case of mountainous terrain or in areas with only secondary roads available, a fifteen (15) mile drive) from a hospital, or; b. Certified by the state as being a Necessary Provider of Health Care Services to residents in the area; 2. Provides twenty-four (24) hour emergency care services as determined necessary for ensuring access to emergency care in each area served by a Critical Access Hospital; 3. Provides not more than fifteen (15) beds for acute inpatient care with the exception for swing-bed facilities which are allowed to have up to twenty-five (25) inpatient beds that can be used interchangeable for acute or SNF-level care, provided that not more than fifteen (15) beds are used at any one (1) time for acute care; 4. Provides acute inpatient care for a period not to exceed ninety-six (96) hours unless a longer period is required because transfer to a hospital is precluded due to inclement weather, or other emergency conditions or a peer review organization or equivalent entity, upon request, waives the ninety-six (96) hour restriction on a case-by-case basis; 5. Provides staffing according to Rules and Regulations for Hospitals in Arkansas; 6. Has membership in a rural health network and 7. Has an agreement with at least one (1) hospital that is a member of the network for a. Patient referral and transfer; b. Development and use of communications systems; c. Provision of emergency and non-emergency transportation; d. Credentialing and quality assurance; and 8. Meets Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Conditions of Participation for Critical Access Hospitals; 9. When a hospital converts to a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and then at a later date decides to return to a full service with no limits on bed or length of stay, the hospital would be surveyed using the Life Safety Code under which the hospital entered into the CAH program. The hospital shall be able to show that it has continued to be licensed and complied consistently with the life safety code as a CAH.

I. Emergency Services Facility means a facility that is licensed only for emergency services as provided for in Act 516 of 1987. The Department is empowered to license under Act 414 of 1961, as amended, hospitals which have discontinued inpatient services to continue to provide emergency services if there is no other hospital emergency service in the community.

J. General Hospital means any facility used for the purpose of providing short-term inpatient diagnostic care and treatment, including general medical care, surgical care, obstetrical care, and specialized services or specialized treatment.

K. Infirmary means any facility used for the purpose of offering temporary medical care and/or treatment exclusively for persons residing on a designated premise, e.g., schools, reformatories, prisons, etc. and where the persons are kept for twenty-four (24) hours or more.

L. Institution means, for the purpose of these regulations, a facility which requires a license.

M. Maternity and General Medical Care Hospital means any facility limited to providing short-term inpatient obstetrical and general medical diagnostic care and treatment.

N. Maternity Hospital means any facility limited to providing short-term inpatient obstetrical diagnostic care and treatment.

O. Psychiatric Hospital means any facility, or a distinct part of a facility, used for the purpose of providing inpatient diagnostic care and treatment for persons having mental disorders.

P. Recuperation Center means any facility or distinct part of a facility, which includes inpatient beds with an organized Medical Staff, and with medical services that include physician services and continuous nursing services to provide treatment for patients who are not in an acute phase of illness but who currently require primarily convalescent or restorative services (usually post-acute hospital care of relatively short duration). A facility that furnishes primarily domiciliary care is not within this definition.

Q. Rehabilitation Facility means, for the purpose of these regulations, an inpatient care facility, or a distinct part of a facility, which provides rehabilitation services for two (2) or more disabled persons not related to the proprietor, for more than twenty-four (24) hours through an integrated program of medical and other restorative services. A disabled person shall be considered to be an individual who has a physical or mental condition which, if not treated, will probably result in limiting the performance or activity of the person to the extent of constituting a substantial physical, mental, or vocational handicap.

R. Surgery and General Medical Care Hospital means any facility limited to providing short-term inpatient surgical and general medical diagnostic care and treatment. The following categories (S-T) of outpatient facilities may not be conducted or maintained in this state without being licensed:

S. Outpatient Psychiatric Center means a facility in which psychiatric services are offered for a period of four (4) to sixteen...