Sec. 19a-561. Nursing facility management services. Certification. Initial applications and biennial renewals. Investigation. Disciplinary action.

(a) As used in this section, “nursing facility management services” means services provided in a nursing facility to manage the operations of such facility, including the provision of care and services and “nursing facility management services certificate holder” means a person or entity certified by the Department of Public Health to provide nursing facility management services.

(b) No person or entity shall provide nursing facility management services in this state without obtaining a certificate from the Department of Public Health.

(c) Any person or entity seeking a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall apply to the department, in writing, on a form prescribed by the department. Such application shall include the following:

(1) (A) The name and business address of the applicant and whether the applicant is an individual, partnership, corporation or other legal entity; (B) if the applicant is a partnership, corporation or other legal entity, the names of the officers, directors, trustees, managing and general partners of the applicant, the names of the persons who have a ten per cent or greater beneficial ownership interest in the partnership, corporation or other legal entity, and a description of each such person's relationship to the applicant; (C) if the applicant is a corporation incorporated in another state, a certificate of good standing from the state agency with jurisdiction over corporations in such state; and (D) if the applicant currently provides nursing facility management services in another state, a certificate of good standing from the licensing agency with jurisdiction over public health for each state in which such services are provided;

(2) A description of the applicant's nursing facility management experience;

(3) An affidavit signed by the applicant and any of the persons described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection disclosing any matter in which the applicant or such person (A) has been convicted of an offense classified as a felony under section 53a-25 or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge, or (B) has been held liable or enjoined in a civil action by final judgment, if the felony or civil action involved fraud, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion or misappropriation of property, or (C) is subject to a currently effective injunction or restrictive or remedial order of a court of record at the time of application, or (D) within the past five years has had any state or federal license or permit suspended or revoked as a result of an action brought by a governmental agency or department, arising out of or relating to business activity or health care, including, but not limited to, actions affecting the operation of a nursing facility, residential care home or any facility subject to sections 17b-520 to 17b-535, inclusive, or a similar statute in another state or country; and

(4) The location and description of any nursing facility in this state or another state in which the applicant currently provides management services or has provided such services within the past five years.

(d) In addition to the information provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the department may reasonably request to review the applicant's audited and certified financial statements, which shall remain the property of the applicant when used for either initial or renewal certification under this section.

(e) Each application for a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall be accompanied by an application fee of three hundred dollars. The certificate shall list each location at which nursing facility management services may be provided by the holder of the certificate.

(f) The department shall base its decision on whether to issue or renew a certificate on the information presented to the department and on the compliance status of the managed entities. The department may deny certification to any applicant for the provision of nursing facility management services (1) at any specific facility or facilities where there has been a substantial failure to comply with the Public Health Code, or (2) if the applicant fails to provide the information required under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section.

(g) Renewal applications shall be made biennially after (1) submission of the information required by subsection (c) of this section and any other information required by the department pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, and (2) submission of evidence satisfactory to the department that any nursing facility at which the applicant provides nursing facility management services is in substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the Public Health Code and licensing regulations, and (3) payment of a three-hundred-dollar fee.

(h) In any case in which the Commissioner of Public Health finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under this section, the commissioner may initiate disciplinary action against a nursing facility management services certificate holder pursuant to section 19a-494.

(i) The department may limit or restrict the provision of management services by any nursing facility management services certificate holder against whom disciplinary action has been initiated under subsection (h) of this section.

(j) The department, in implementing the provisions of this section, may conduct any inquiry or investigation, in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-498, regarding an applicant or certificate holder.

(k) In any case in which the commissioner finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under this chapter, or regulations adopted thereunder, the commissioner may require the nursing facility licensee and the nursing facility management service certificate holder to jointly submit a plan of correction as described in section 19a-496.

(l) Any person or entity providing nursing facility management services without the certificate required under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each day that the services are provided without such certificate.

(P.A. 06-195, S. 23; P.A. 07-252, S. 14; P.A. 10-117, S. 9; P.A. 14-231, S. 7.)

History: P.A. 06-195 effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (c)(3) by making technical changes and organizing existing provisions as Subparas. (A) to (D); P.A. 10-117 amended Subsec. (a) by defining “nursing facility management services certificate holder”, amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “On and after January 1, 2007”, redesignated existing Subsec. (c)(1) as Subsec. (c)(1)(A), added Subsecs. (c)(1)(B) to (c)(1)(D) re additional information required of applicants, amended Subsec. (c)(3) by making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (c)(4) by adding “in this state or another state”, redesignated provision of existing Subsec. (f) re failure to comply with Public Health Code as Subsec. (f)(1), added Subsec. (f)(2) re failure to provide information required under Subsec. (c)(1), added Subsec. (j) re department's authority to conduct inquiry or investigation and added Subsec. (k) re civil penalty; P.A. 14-231 added new Subsec. (k) re plan of correction and redesignated existing Subsec. (k) as Subsec. (l).