HOUSE BILL No. 4418

 

March 7, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Polidori, Hopgood, Constan, Lemmons, Gonzales, Spade, Espinoza, Brown, Ball, Vagnozzi, Alma Smith, Clemente, Meadows, Robert Jones, Young, Condino, Ebli, Miller, Clack, Jackson, Hood, Virgil Smith and Sheltrown and referred to the Committee on Senior Health, Security, and Retirement.

 

     A bill to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled

 

"Public health code,"

 

(MCL 333.1101 to 333.25211) by adding section 21737.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 21737. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection

 

(3) or (4), in accordance with federal laws, rules, and

 

regulations, a nursing home initially licensed after October 1,

 

1990 shall maintain a temperature of not less than 71 degrees

 

Fahrenheit or more than 81 degrees Fahrenheit measured 3 feet above

 

the floor at all times in all areas of a building accessible to

 

residents, employees, and visitors except for the kitchen or

 

laundry room.

 

     (2) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (3) or (4),


 

within 3 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that

 

added this section, a nursing home licensed prior to October 1,

 

1990 shall maintain a temperature of not less than 71 degrees

 

Fahrenheit or more than 81 degrees Fahrenheit measured 3 feet above

 

the floor at all times in all areas of a building accessible to

 

residents, employees, and visitors except for the kitchen or

 

laundry room. Upon written request of the nursing home, the

 

department may grant an extension of the time period for compliance

 

under this subsection if all of the following are met:

 

     (a) Upon review of the nursing home's written policies and

 

procedures and existing plans or agreements for emergency

 

situations, the department determines that there are adequate

 

protections in place to ensure the continued safety and comfort of

 

the residents within that nursing home.

 

     (b) Building renovations have begun to bring the nursing home

 

into compliance with this section or the nursing home has

 

submitted, and the department has approved, the nursing home's

 

plans for renovation, repair, or remodeling of its building to meet

 

the requirements of this section.

 

     (3) If a nursing home is located north of the forty-fifth

 

parallel of latitude, the temperatures within that nursing home may

 

on rare, brief occasions, as a result of rare, brief episodes of

 

unseasonably hot weather, exceed the upper range of 81 degrees

 

Fahrenheit. If the temperature range exceeds 81 degrees Fahrenheit,

 

the nursing home shall monitor its residents and take any

 

appropriate measures to ensure the health, safety, and comfort of

 

each resident.


 

     (4) If a nursing home has a separate heating and cooling

 

system for resident rooms that allows a resident to control the

 

temperature in his or her own room, the resident may maintain his

 

or her room at any level he or she desires unless the temperature

 

may adversely affect the health, safety, or comfort of the resident

 

or any other resident sharing that room, in which case the nursing

 

home shall intervene and take appropriate action to keep the

 

resident or residents safe and comfortable. If a resident chooses

 

to maintain the temperature in his or her room at a temperature

 

level that is outside of the temperature range required under this

 

section, that resident shall submit documentation from his or her

 

physician approving those temperature conditions. This

 

documentation shall be included with that resident's care plan.

 

     (5) Within 30 days after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added this section, the nursing home administrator shall

 

develop written policies and procedures for maintaining safe and

 

comfortable temperatures in the nursing home, maintain a copy of

 

those written policies and procedures on the premises, and submit a

 

copy of the same to the department for filing with its most recent

 

license or renewal application. The written policies and procedures

 

shall include at least all of the following:

 

     (a) Measures to be taken to ensure the health, safety, and

 

comfort of residents in the nursing home.

 

     (b) Identification of circumstances that require notification

 

of the nursing home administrator or a physician and the

 

appropriate time frames for those actions.

 

     (c) Identification of available sites within or outside the


 

nursing home to which residents may be relocated if temperatures

 

within the nursing home present a threat to the health or safety of

 

the residents.

 

     (6) A nursing home shall have an existing agreement or plan

 

for emergency situations, including, but not limited to, an

 

agreement or plan for the provision of emergency services and

 

repairs in the event of an electrical, heating, ventilation, or air

 

conditioning failure or malfunction. The nursing home shall

 

maintain a copy of these written agreements or plans on the

 

premises, and those shall be made available to the department upon

 

request. Repair work that is necessary to maintain the temperature

 

within the range described in subsections (1) and (2) shall be

 

completed within 48 hours or less. If, for reasons beyond the

 

nursing home's control, repairs cannot be completed in a timely

 

manner, the nursing home shall implement its written policies and

 

procedures established pursuant to subsection (5).

 

     (7) Within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added this section, the department shall establish an air

 

conditioning grant program for the purpose of providing grants to

 

nursing homes that need to replace, update, or repair their heating

 

and cooling system to maintain the temperature standards

 

established under subsection (2). The air conditioning grant

 

program shall provide grants to nursing homes that the department

 

considers eligible within 60 days after the nursing home submits

 

documentation to the department verifying that the heating and

 

cooling system has been replaced, updated, or repaired to comply

 

with this section. Any building maintenance, repair, upkeep, or


 

replacement with similar equipment, implemented as a result of this

 

section, is normal building maintenance and is not a renovation. In

 

each fiscal year governed by this subsection, the department shall

 

only expend funds under the air conditioning grant program if the

 

medicaid reimbursement rates are not below the level of rates in

 

effect on July 1, 2004.

 

     (8) In accordance with sections 2262, 2263, and 21799d, a

 

nursing home that violates this section is subject to a civil

 

penalty.