Authority: IC 16-28-1-7

Affected: IC 16-28-2; IC 16-28-5-1

Sec. 0.5. (a) A health facility that provides residential nursing care or administers medications prescribed by a physician must be licensed as a residential care facility. A health facility licensed as a comprehensive care facility is not required to also be licensed as a residential care facility in order to provide residential nursing care.

(b) A residential care facility may not provide comprehensive nursing care except to the extent allowed under this rule.

(c) A facility that provides services, such as room, meals, laundry, activities, housekeeping, and limited assistance in activities of daily living, without providing administration of medication or residential nursing care is not required to be licensed. The provision by a licensed home health agency of medication administration or residential nursing care in a facility which provides room, meals, a laundry, activities, housekeeping, and limited assistance in activities of daily living does not require the facility to be licensed, regardless of whether the facility and the home health agency have common ownership, provided, however, that the resident is given the opportunity to contract with other home health agencies at any time during the resident's stay at the facility.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (f), a resident is not required to be discharged if receiving hospice services through an appropriately licensed provider of the resident's choice.

(e) Notwithstanding subsection (f)(2), (f)(3), (f)(4), and (f)(5), a residential care facility that retains appropriate professional staff may provide comprehensive nursing care to residents needing care for a self-limiting condition.

(f) The resident must be discharged if the resident:

1. (1) is a danger to the resident or others;
2. (2) requires twenty-four (24) hour per day comprehensive nursing care or comprehensive nursing oversight;
3. (3) requires less than twenty-four (24) hour per day comprehensive nursing care, comprehensive nursing oversight, or rehabilitative therapies and has not entered into a contract with an appropriately licensed provider of the resident's choice to provide those services;
4. (4) is not medically stable; or

5. (5) meets at least two (2) of the following three (3) criteria unless the resident is medically stable and the health facility can meet the resident's needs:

   1. (A) Requires total assistance with eating.
   2. (B) Requires total assistance with toileting.
   3. (C) Requires total assistance with transferring.

(g) For purposes of IC 16-28-5-1, a breach of:

1. (1) subsection (a) or (b) is an offense; and
2. (2) subsection (c), (d), (e), or (f) is a deficiency.

(Indiana Department of Health; 410 IAC 16.2-5-0.5; filed Jan 21, 2003, 8:34 a.m.: 26 IR 1911, eff Mar 1, 2003; readopted filed May 22, 2007, 1:44 p.m.: 20070613-IR-410070141RFA; readopted filed Sep 11, 2013, 3:19 p.m.: 20131009-IR-410130346RFA; readopted filed Nov 13, 2019, 3:14 p.m.: 20191211-IR-410190391RFA; readopted filed Nov 14, 2025, 11:18 a.m.: 20251210-IR-410240588RFA)