§ 19a-491 — (Formerly Sec. 19-577). License and certificate required. Application. Assessment of civil penalties or a consent order. Fees. Minimum service quality standards. Regulations. Professional liability insurance. Prohibition. Maintenance of medical records.

Connecticut § 19a-491

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 19a: Public Health and Well-Being
• Ch. 368v: Health Care Institutions

Text

(a) No person acting individually or jointly with any other person shall establish, conduct, operate or maintain an institution in this state without a license as required by this chapter, except for persons issued a license by the Commissioner of Children and Families pursuant to section 17a-145 for the operation of (1) a substance abuse treatment facility, or (2) a facility for the purpose of caring for women during pregnancies and for women and their infants following such pregnancies, provided such exception shall not apply to the hospital and psychiatric residential treatment facility units of the Albert J. Solnit Children's Center. Application for such license shall (A) be made to the Department of Public Health upon forms provided by it, (B) be accompanied by the fee required under subsection (c), (d) or (e) of this section, (C) contain such information as the department requires, which may include affirmative evidence of ability to comply with reasonable standards and regulations prescribed under the provisions of this chapter, and (D) not be required to be notarized. The commissioner may require as a condition of licensure that an applicant sign a consent order providing reasonable assurances of compliance with the Public Health Code. The commissioner may issue more than one chronic disease hospital license to a single institution until such time as the state offers a rehabilitation hospital license. (b) If any person acting individually or jointly with any other person owns real property or any improvements thereon, upon or within which an institution, as defined in subsections (c) and (o) of section 19a-490 , is established, conducted, operated or maintained and is not the licensee of the institution, such person shall submit a copy of the lease agreement to the department at the time of any change of ownership and with each license renewal application. The lease agreement shall, at a minimum, identify the person or entity responsible for the maintenance and repair of all buildings and structures within which such an institution is established, conducted or operated. If a violation is found as a result of an inspection or investigation, the commissioner may require the owner to sign a consent order providing assurances that repairs or improvements necessary for compliance with the provisions of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies shall be completed within a specified period of time or may assess a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each day that such owner is in violation of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies or a consent order. A consent order may include a provision for the establishment of a temporary manager of such real property who has the authority to complete any repairs or improvements required by such order. Upon request of the Commissioner of Public Health, the Attorney General may petition the Superior Court for such equitable and injunctive relief as such court deems appropriate to ensure compliance with the provisions of a consent order. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any property or improvements owned by a person licensed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section to establish, conduct, operate or maintain an institution on or within such property or improvements. (c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall charge the following fees for the biennial licensing and inspection of the following institutions: (1) Chronic and convalescent nursing homes, per site, four hundred forty dollars; (2) chronic and convalescent nursing homes, per bed, five dollars; (3) rest homes with nursing supervision, per site, four hundred forty dollars; (4) rest homes with nursing supervision, per bed, five dollars; (5) outpatient dialysis units and outpatient surgical facilities, six hundred twenty-five dollars; (6) mental health residential facilities, per site, three hundred seventy-five dollars; (7) mental health residential facilities, per bed, five dollars; (8) hospitals, per site, nine hundred forty dollars; (9) hospitals, per bed, seven dollars and fifty cents; (10) nonstate agency educational institutions, per infirmary, one hundred fifty dollars; (11) nonstate agency educational institutions, per infirmary bed, twenty-five dollars; (12) home health care agencies, except certified home health care agencies described in subsection (d) of this section, per agency, three hundred dollars; (13) home health care agencies, hospice agencies or home health aide agencies, except certified home health care agencies, hospice agencies or home health aide agencies described in subsection (d) of this section, per satellite patient service office, one hundred dollars; (14) assisted living services agencies, except such agencies participating in the congregate housing facility pilot program described in section 8-119n , per site, five hundred dollars; (15) short-term hospitals special hospice, per site, nine hundred forty dollars; (16) short-term hospitals special hospice, per bed, seven dollars and fifty cents; (17) hospice inpatient facility, per site, four hundred forty dollars; (18) hospice inpatient facility, per bed, five dollars; and (19) birth centers, per site, nine hundred forty dollars and, per bed, seven dollars and fifty cents. (d) Notwithstanding any regulation, the commissioner shall charge the following fees for the triennial licensing and inspection of the following institutions: (1) Residential care homes, per site, five hundred sixty-five dollars; (2) residential care homes, per bed, four dollars and fifty cents; (3) home health care agencies that are certified as a provider of services by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the Medicare or Medicaid program, three hundred dollars; and (4) certified home health care agencies or hospice agencies, as described in section 19a-493 , per satellite patient service office, one hundred dollars. (e) The commissioner shall charge one thousand dollars for the licensing and inspection of outpatient clinics that provide either medical or mental health service, urgent care services and well-child clinical services, except those operated by a municipal health department, health district or licensed nonprofit nursing or community health agency. Such licensing and inspection shall be performed every three years, except those outpatient clinics that have obtained accreditation from a national accrediting organization within the immediately preceding twelve-month period may be inspected by the commissioner once every four years, provided the outpatient clinic has not committed any violation that the commissioner determines would pose an immediate threat to the health, safety or welfare of the patients of the outpatient clinic. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to limit the commissioner's authority to inspect any applicant for licensure or renewal of licensure as an outpatient clinic, suspend or revoke any license granted to an outpatient clinic pursuant to this section or take any other legal action against an outpatient clinic that is authorized by any provision of the general statutes. (f) Any institution that is planning a project for construction or building alteration shall provide the plan for such project to the Department of Public Health for review. Any such project shall comply with nationally established facility guidelines for health care construction, as approved by the commissioner, that are in place at the time the institution provides the plan to the department. The commissioner shall post a reference to such guidelines, including the effective date of such guidelines, on the Department of Public Health's Internet web site. No institution shall be required to include matters outside the scope and applicability of such guidelines in the institution's plan. (g) The commissioner shall charge a fee of five hundred sixty-five dollars for the technical assistance provided for the design, review and development of an institution's construction, renovation, building alteration, sale or change in ownership when the cost of the project is one million dollars or less and shall charge a fee of one-quarter of one per cent of the total construction cost when the cost of the project is more than one million dollars. Such fee shall include all department reviews and on-site inspections. For purposes of this subsection, “institution” does not include a facility owned by the state. (h) The commissioner may require as a condition of the licensure of a home health care agency, hospice agency and home health aide agency that each agency meet minimum service quality standards. In the event the commissioner requires such agencies to meet minimum service quality standards as a condition of their licensure, the commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to define such minimum service quality standards, which shall (1) allow for training of home health aides by adult continuing education, (2) require a registered nurse to visit and assess each patient receiving home health aide services as often as necessary based on the patient's condition, but not less than once every sixty days, and (3) require the assessment prescribed by subdivision (2) of this subsection to be completed while the home health aide is providing services in the patient's home. (i) No person acting individually or jointly with any other person shall establish, conduct, operate or maintain a home health care agency, hospice agency or home health aide agency without maintaining professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice. The amount of insurance which such person shall maintain as insurance or indemnity against claims for injury or death for professional malpractice shall be not less than one million dollars for one person, per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than three million dollars. (j) On and after June 15, 2012, until June 30, 2017, the commissioner shall not issue or renew a license under this chapter for any hospital certified to participate in the Medicare program as a long-term care hospital under Section 1886(d)(1)(B)(iv) of the Social Security Act (42 USC 1395ww) unless such hospital was so certified under said federal act on January 1, 2012. (k) (1) A chronic disease hospital shall (A) maintain its medical records on-site in an accessible manner or be able to retrieve such records from an off-site location not later than the end of the next business day after receiving a request for such records, (B) keep a patient's medical records on-site for a minimum of ten years after the date of such patient's discharge, except the hospital may destroy the patient's original medical records prior to the expiration of the ten-year period if a copy of such medical records is preserved by a process that is consistent with current hospital standards, or (C) complete a patient's medical records not more than thirty days after the date of such patient's discharge, except in unusual circumstances that shall be specified in the hospital's rules and regulations for its medical staff. Each chronic disease hospital shall provide the Department of Public Health with a list of the process it uses for preserving a copy of medical records in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this subdivision. (2) A children's hospital shall (A) maintain its medical records on-site in an accessible manner or be able to retrieve such records from an off-site location not later than the end of the next business day after receiving a request for such records, and (B) keep a patient's medical records on-site for a minimum of ten years after the date of such patient's discharge, except the hospital may destroy the patient's original medical records prior to the expiration of the ten-year period if a copy of such medical records is preserved by a process that is consistent with current hospital standards. Each children's hospital shall provide the Department of Public Health a list of the process it uses for preserving a copy of medical records in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this subdivision. (3) The Department of Public Health may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this subsection. See Sec. 29-315 re automatic fire extinguishing systems in licensed chronic and convalescent nursing homes or rest homes with nursing supervision.

Legislative History

(1953, 1955, S. 2052d; P.A. 77-601, S. 9, 11; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-610, S. 23; P.A. 80-127, S. 1; P.A. 84-546, S. 167, 173; P.A. 85-588, S. 1; P.A. 89-350, S. 6; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 14, 117; P.A. 93-74, S. 44, 67; 93-201, S. 9, 24; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-415, S. 9; P.A. 94-196, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-160, S. 12, 69; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-139, S. 12, 13; P.A. 97-112, S. 2; 97-297; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 28; P.A. 05-64, S. 1; P.A. 09-197, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 177; P.A. 10-117, S. 10; P.A. 11-242, S. 28; P.A. 12-118, S. 2; P.A. 13-208, S. 5; 13-234, S. 140; 13-249, S. 2; P.A. 15-242, S. 1, 2; P.A. 16-66, S. 23; P.A. 17-95, S. 1; 17-146, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 39, 675; P.A. 18-168, S. 40; P.A. 19-97, S. 6; 19-118, S. 42, 73; P.A. 21-121, S. 46; P.A. 22-58, S. 9; 22-92, S. 17; P.A. 23-147, S. 3.) History: Sec. 19-33 transferred to Sec. 19-577 in 1977; P.A. 77-601 added exception re continued operation of certain facilities in operation as of January 1, 1979; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-610 added Subsec. (b) re validity of certain licenses issued before October 1, 1979; P.A. 80-127 added Subsec. (c) re certificate of compliance with public health code; Sec. 19-577 transferred to Sec. 19a-491 in 1983; P.A. 84-546 made technical change to Subsec. (a), deleting obsolete provision re home health care agency, homemaker-home health aide agency or coordination, assessment and monitoring agency in operation on January 1, 1979; P.A. 85-588 added Subsec. (d) to include in the definition of “institution” any person or agency who advertises, arranges or provides homemaker-home health aides or services in a patient's home; P.A. 89-350 added the language on consent orders, deleted former Subsec. (b) re period of validity for licenses and renewal and relettered the remaining Subsecs. and changed “annually” to “biennially” in Subsec. (b); May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 added new Subsec. (d) to establish fees for biennial licensing and inspection of chronic and convalescent nursing homes, rest homes with nursing supervision, homes for the aged, ambulatory facilities, mental health residential facilities, hospitals, nonstate agency educational facilities and for technical assistance for design, review and development; P.A. 93-74 amended Subsec. (d) by exempting municipal health departments, health districts or licensed nursing or community health and well-child clinics from the biennial licensing and inspection fees, by reducing educational institution infirmary fee from $500 to $75 and by instituting a per-bed charge of $25, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-201 amended Subsec. (d)(13) to add “infirmary”, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-415 added Subsec. (e) authorizing commissioner to develop minimum service quality standards; P.A. 94-196 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize issuance of more than one chronic disease hospital license to a single institution until the state offers a rehabilitation hospital license, effective June 9, 1994 (Revisor's note: In 1995 the words “said chapter and sections” were replaced editorially by the Revisors with “this chapter”); P.A. 95-160 amended Subsec. (e) by deleting a reference to coordination, assessment and monitoring agencies and made a technical change, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-139 changed effective date of P.A. 95-160 but without affecting this section; P.A. 97-112 replaced “homes for the aged” with “residential care homes”; P.A. 97-297 amended Subsec. (e) to add provision re training of homemaker-home health care aides by continuing education; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring submittal of a lease agreement and deleting provisions re biennial issuance of certificate of compliance with Public Health Code, deleted former Subsec. (c) defining “institution”, redesignating existing Subsec. (d) as new Subsec. (c) and adding licensing and inspection requirement for outpatient dialysis units and outpatient surgical facilities, deleting references to residential care homes and ambulatory facilities and deleting provision re technical assistance fee, added new Subsec. (d) to change license renewal for residential care homes from biennially to triennially and to increase fees from $300 per site and $3 per bed to $450 per site and $4.50 per bed, added new Subsec. (e) to require license renewal and inspection with fees every four years for outpatient clinics and maternity homes, added new Subsec. (f) re technical assistance fee, redesignated existing Subsec. (e) as new Subsec. (g) and made technical changes, effective January 1, 2004; P.A. 05-64 amended Subsec. (g) by designating existing language re regulations allowing for training as Subdiv. (1), making technical changes and adding new Subdivs. (1) and (2) re additional requirements for regulations establishing minimum service quality standards, effective June 2, 2005; P.A. 09-197 amended Subsec. (a) by adding exception for certain facilities licensed by the Commissioner of Children and Families, effective July 1, 2009; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsecs. (c), (d) and (f) to increase fees; P.A. 10-117 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change and add provisions permitting commissioner to assess civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per day against an owner who is in violation of Public Health Code or consent order and providing that consent order may include establishment of temporary manager and that Attorney General may petition Superior Court to ensure compliance with consent order; P.A. 11-242 amended Subsec. (e) by deleting former Subdivs. (2) and (3) re license fees for maternity homes on a per site and per bed basis and by making technical changes; P.A. 12-118 added Subsec. (h) prohibiting commissioner from issuing or renewing the license of certain long-term care hospitals from June 15, 2012, until June 30, 2017, unless the hospital was certified under federal act on January 1, 2012, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-208 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provisions, codified by the Revisors as Subdivs. (15) to (18), re hospice facility biennial fees and by making a technical change; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (c) by adding Subdivs. (12) and (13) re home health care agency biennial fees and adding Subdiv. (14) re assisted living services agency biennial fees, amended Subsec. (d) by adding Subdiv. (3) re home health care agency triennial fees and adding Subdiv. (4) re certified home health care agency triennial fees, and amended Subsec. (f) by adding provisions re renovation and building alteration, re fees relative to cost of project, re fees to include reviews and inspections and re definition of “institution”, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-249 added new Subsec. (h) re professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice and redesignated existing Subsec. (h) as Subsec. (i), effective January 1, 2014; P.A. 15-242 amended Subsec. (f) by changing “project cost” to “construction cost” and making technical changes and added Subsec. (j) re maintenance of medical records; P.A. 16-66 amended Subsec. (j)(1)(A) and (2)(A) to add provision re retrieval of records from off-site location not later than end of next business day after receiving records request and further amended Subsec. (j)(2)(A) to delete “, except nurse's notes,”; P.A. 17-95 added new Subsec. (f) re review of plan for construction or building alteration project and compliance with nationally established facility guidelines and redesignated existing Subsecs. (f) to (j) as Subsecs. (g) to (k); P.A. 17-146 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by designating provision re forms as Subpara. (A), adding Subpara. (B) re fee, designating provision re information as department requires as Subpara. (C), and making technical changes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (e) by replacing “four” with “three”, adding reference to “urgent care services” and replacing “clinics” with “clinical services”, effective October 31, 2017, and made identical changes, effective December 1, 2017; P.A. 18-168 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subpara. (D) re notarization of application not required; P.A. 19-97 amended Subsecs. (h) and (i) by replacing references to homemaker-home health aides with references to home health aides, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 19-118 amended Subsec. (b) by adding reference to Sec. 19a-490(o), effective July 9, 2019, and amended Subsec. (e) by adding provisions re exception to requirement of licensing and inspection every 3 years and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 21-121 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing references to “Public Health Code” with references to “regulations of Connecticut state agencies”, amended Subsec. (c)(13) by adding references to hospice agencies and home health aide agencies, amended Subsec. (d)(4) by adding “or hospice agencies”, amended Subsec. (h) by adding reference to hospice agency and making conforming changes and amended Subsec. (i) by adding “, hospice agency”, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-58 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by adding provision re applicability to hospital and psychiatric residential treatment facility units of Albert J. Solnit Children's Center, effective May 23, 2022; P.A. 22-92 amended Subsec. (c)(13) by making a technical change, effective May 24, 2022; P.A. 23-147 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting “Notwithstanding any regulation,”, adding Subdiv. (19) re birth centers, and making conforming changes, effective January 1, 2024. Cited. 206 C. 316; 219 C. 657.