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.