Rule 290-9-37-.05 - DefinitionsIn these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, the words, phrases and symbols set forth herein shall mean the following:
(a) "Administrator" means the manager designated by the governing body as responsible for overall operations of the Community Living Arrangement;(b) "Applicant" means:1. When the Community Living Arrangement is owned by a sole proprietorship, the individual proprietor shall be the applicant for the license, complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the licensee;2. When the Community Living Arrangement is owned by a partnership, the general partners shall be the applicant for the license, complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the licensee;3. When the Community Living Arrangement is owned by an association or limited liability company (LLC), the governing body of the association or LLC shall authorize the application for the license and complete the statement of responsibility and the association shall serve as the licensee; and4. When the Community Living Arrangement is owned by a corporation, the governing body of the corporation shall authorize the application for the license and complete the statement of responsibility and the corporation shall serve as the licensee.(c) "Biomedical waste" as defined in O.C.G.A. § 12-8-22(1.1) means, in relevant part, pathological waste, sharps, chemotherapy waste, discarded medical equipment and parts, not including expendable supplies and materials that have been contaminated and have not been decontaminated, as further defined in Rule 391-3-4-.15, and other such waste materials;(d) "Capacity" means the physical and mental capability of an individual as determined by health care professionals through clinical evaluation, observation, interview, or other assessments;(e) "Chemical restraint" means drugs that are administered to manage a resident's behavior in a way that reduces the safety risk to the resident or others; that have the temporary effect of restricting the resident's freedom of movement; and that are not a standard treatment for the resident's medical or psychiatric condition;(f) "Choice" means following the preferences of residents served concerning decisions about the residential environment and daily activities to the extent possible;(g) "Community Living Arrangement" means any residence, whether operated for profit or not, that undertakes through its ownership or management to provide or arrange for the provision of daily personal services, supports, care, or treatment exclusively for two or more adults who are not related to the owner or administrator by blood or marriage and whose residential services are financially supported, in whole or in part, by funds designated through the Department of Human Resources, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases. A Community Living Arrangement is also referred to as a "residence";(h) "Criminal record" means: 1. Conviction of a crime; or2. Arrest, charge, and sentencing for a crime where:(i) A plea of nolo contendere was entered to the charge; or(ii) First offender treatment without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge was granted; or(iii) Adjudication or sentence was otherwise withheld or not entered on the charge; or(iv) Arrest and being charged for a crime if the charge is pending, unless the time for prosecuting such crime has expired pursuant to O.C.G.A. Sec. 17-3-1et seq.(i) "Criminal history background check" means a search of appropriate records to obtain criminal background information on an owner of a business or agency licensed as a community living arrangement or seeking licensure as a community living arrangement.(j) "Department" means the Department of Human Resources of the State of Georgia;(k) "Director" means the chief administrator, executive officer or manager.(l) "Disaster preparedness plan" means a written document that identifies potential hazards or events that, should they occur, would cause an emergency situation at the Community Living Arrangement and that proposes, for each identified emergency situation, a course of action so as to minimize the threat to the health and safety of the residents within the Community Living Arrangement;(m) "Fingerprint criminal history record check" means the satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination by the Management Actions and Appeals Section of the Office of Human Resources Management of the Department of Human Resources based upon a criminal history record check comparison of Georgia Crime Information Center data with fingerprints and other information, as specified in O.C.G.A. § 49-2-14(b);(n) "Governing body" means the board of trustees, partnership, corporation, association, agency, entity, or person or group of persons who maintain and control the residence and who are legally responsible for the operation of the residence;(o) "Health care professional" means a physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, psychologist, social worker, physical therapist, audiologist, or speech pathologist providing professional services, within the scope of his or her practice as authorized by Georgia law, and participating in the care of the resident;(p) "License" means the permit issued by the Department to operate a Community Living Arrangement;(q) "Individual service plan" or "ISP" means a comprehensive written plan of care which specifies services, supports, care, or treatment required to assist the resident in achieving self-sufficiency and community integration and maintaining a satisfactory quality of life;(r) "Legal guardian" means a duly appointed person who is authorized to act, within the scope of the authority granted under the legal guardian's appointment, on behalf of a resident who is adjudicated incapacitated;(s) "Mechanical restraint" means a device attached or adjacent to the resident's body that he or she cannot easily remove that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to his or her body and that is not used for a therapeutic purpose. Mechanical restraint may also be referred to as "physical restraint";(t) "Medical protection device" and "adaptive support device" mean devices that may restrain movement but are applied for protection from injury or to support or correct the body alignment of the person, are required for the treatment of the person's physical condition, and may be used only as treatment interventions;(u) "Medical services" means services that may be provided by a person licensed under Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the O.C.G.A.;(v) "Non-family adult" means a person 18 years of age or older who is not related by blood within the third degree of consanguinity or by marriage to the person responsible for the management of the Community Living Arrangement or to a member of the governing body;(w) "Nursing services" means those services that may be rendered by a person licensed under the Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Practice Act, O.C.G.A. § 43-26-1et seq., or the Georgia Practical Nurses Practice Act, O.C.G.A. § 43-26-30et seq.;(x) "Owner" means any individual or any person affiliated with a corporation, partnership, or association with 10 percent or greater ownership interest in a business or agency providing community living arrangement services and who: 1. Purports to or exercises authority of an owner in the business or agency;2. Applies to operate or operates the business or agency; or3. Enters into a contract to acquire ownership of such a business or agency.(y) "Personal restraint" means the application of physical force, without the use of any device, for the purpose of restricting the free movement of a resident's body. Personal restraint does not include briefly holding a resident without undue force in order to calm or comfort the resident or holding a resident's hand to safely escort the resident from one area to another;(z) "Personal services" means provision of services, on a daily basis, that include, but are not limited to, individual assistance with or supervision of medications, ambulation and transfer, and essential activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, and toileting;(aa) "Plan of correction" means a written plan in response to a report of deficiencies in meeting rules and regulations of the Department of Human Resources, which states what the residence will do, and when, to correct each of the violations identified;(bb) "Quiet time" means the restriction of a resident for a period of time to a designated area, from which the resident is not physically prevented from leaving, for the purpose of providing the resident an opportunity to regain self-control;(cc) "Records check application" means two sets of classifiable fingerprints, a records search fee to be established by the department by rule and regulation, payable in such form as the department may direct to cover the cost of a fingerprint records check, and an affidavit by the applicant disclosing the nature and date of any arrest, charge, or conviction of the applicant for the violation of any law; except for motor vehicle parking violations, whether or not the violation occurred in this state, and such additional information as the department may require.(dd) "Representative" means an individual, selected by a resident to receive notices of admission, discharge, transfer, or significant change in condition of the resident and to otherwise advocate for the well-being of the resident. In the event that the resident is unable because of capacity to select a representative, a representative shall be selected from the following persons in the order of listing: legal guardian; spouse; adult child; parent; attorney; adult next of kin; or adult friend. The representative's power to act on behalf of the resident under these rules shall be completely consistent with the definition of representative under Georgia law as it may be amended from time to time;(ee) "Resident" means any non-family adult living in a Community Living Arrangement and receiving services, supports, care, or treatment;(ff) "Responsible staff person" means the employee designated by the administrator or site manager as responsible for supervising the operation of the residence during periods of temporary absence of the site manager;(gg) "Satisfactory criminal history background check determination" means a written determination that a person for whom a records check was performed was found to have no criminal record which indicates an arrest, charge or conviction of a covered crime as outlined in the current or amended Department of Human Resources Policy #504, if applicable, or as outlined in O.C.G.A. Sec. 49-2-14.1et seq., if applicable.(hh) "Seclusion" means the involuntary confinement of a resident alone in a room or an area from which the resident is physically prevented from leaving;(ii) "Site manager" means the person directly responsible for the operations of a particular residence;(jj) "Standard precautions" means activities designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection. Standard precautions apply to: blood; all body fluids, secretions, and excretions, except sweat, regardless of whether they contain visible blood; skin that is not intact; and mucous membranes; and(kk) "Supports, care, or treatment" means specific services that are provided to the resident in the Community Living Arrangement, coordinated by the administrator as necessary, or reasonably requested by the resident and that include but are not limited to: mental health services, habilitation, rehabilitation, social services, medical, dental, and other health care services, education, financial management, legal services, vocational services, transportation, recreational and leisure activities, and other services required to meet a resident's needs.(ll) "Unsatisfactory criminal history background check determination" means a written determination that a person for whom a records check was performed has a criminal record which indicates an arrest, charge or conviction of one of the covered crimes as outlined in the current or amended Department of Human Resources Policy #504, if applicable, or as outlined in O.C.G.A. Sec. 49-2-14.1et seq., if applicable.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 290-9-37-.05
O.C.G.A. Secs. 31-7-1et seq., 37-1-22.
Original Rule entitled "Definitions" adopted. F. Oct. 24, 2002; eff. Nov. 13, 2002.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Jan. 23, 2008; eff. Feb. 12, 2008.