www.ohca.com SPRING/SUMMER 2023 The Oregon Caregiver 13 LEGAL & REGULATORY rooms, bathing rooms, and corridors/ hallways. Facilities must also comply with life and safety codes, which set forth the requirements for fire and life safety topics. Even though the facility and resident rules and requirements are extensive, there’s more. Employee-Focused Requirements While facilities serve as a resident’s home, facilities are also a workplace for the many dedicated staff who serve residents each day. As such, facilities must address employment rules and regulations in their daily operations. Under the applicable rules, staff must meet certain qualifications, such as background screens, before serving residents. In addition, staff must complete an orientation as well as pre-service and annual training on specified topics, including but not limited to dementia, identifying, preventing and reporting abuse/neglect, resident rights, and cultural competency. Layered on top of the specific rules governing nursing and community- based care communities, there are also general employment laws, such as minimum wage and compensation, payroll, paid leave, and pay equity laws. Facilities also must promote safe and healthy working conditions by complying with workplace safety laws as outlined by Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA). Nondiscrimination and Equity On both the resident and employee side of operations, state and federal law provide strong protections against discrimination and harassment. Aside from the resident rights outlined in nursing and community-based care setting rules, broader rules, such as Oregon’s public accommodation law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Housing Act, prohibit discrimination and ensure equal access to care, services, and housing opportunities. Staff enjoy similar protections, and Oregon and federal laws protect staff from discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault at work. Facilities often find themselves in the difficult situation of delicately balancing the rights of residents with the rights of its employees, such as handling residents or family members who engage in abusive, harassing, or discriminatory conduct towards others. But Wait, There’s More Compliance does not end with facility setting specific rules, general employment laws, and non-discrimination laws. Facilities must follow state and federal privacy laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), when it comes to protecting and securing personal health information of residents and staff. Facilities receiving Medicare and/or Medicaid funds are also required to detect, report, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse while participating in the fight against health care fraud as outlined in, among other laws, the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute. On any given day, a facility could also be the subject of an unannounced survey or complaint investigation by the state agencies tasked with monitoring compliance of this complicated web of regulations or investigations by the Long Term Care Ombudsman or Adult Protective Services. This plot twist requires facilities to pivot, provide access to facility records as appropriate, and allow staff to participate in interviews if needed, while simultaneously completing the tasks that they need to do every day to meet residents’ needs. Read about best tips to survive a survey day in the previous article. With the plethora of diverse rules and regulations spanning every corner of operations, it is no wonder that nursing facilities and community-based care facilities seem to function in a multi-verse. Eugenia Liu is the SVP and General Counsel at OHCA.
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