An OQA shall:

1. (a) Provide personal care services and/or intermediary services or both as defined in He-P 601.03;
2. (b) Monitor and ensure the quality of personal care services and/or intermediary services provided to individuals;

3. (c) Develop and implement a written person-centered plan that will guide the provision of personal care services, as follows:

   1. (1) The person-centered plan shall be developed in conjunction with the individual and the individual’s representative, if any;
   2. (2) The OQA shall communicate with the individual’s case manager in order to ensure the person-centered plan is consistent with and addresses the applicable service needs identified in the comprehensive care plan; and

   3. (3) The person-centered plan shall contain:

      1. a. A description of the individual’s needs and the scope of personal care services;
      2. b. The dates upon which service will begin and end;
      3. c. The frequency of the service(s);
      4. d. Information on the individual’s health condition, medications, and frequency, allergies, and special dietary needs;
      5. e. The anticipated goals and outcomes of service provision; and

      6. f. A description of an individualized contingency plan that addresses unexpected situations that could jeopardize the individual’s health or welfare, and which:

         1. 1. Identifies alternative resources in the event that normally scheduled personal care service providers are unavailable; and
         2. 2. Addresses special evacuation needs that require notification of the local emergency responders;
4. (d) Forward a copy of the person-centered plan in (c) above to the case manager, upon the completion or revision of the plan, and document the date it was sent;
5. (e) Describe the roles and responsibilities of individuals, representatives, OQA providers and personal care service workers under the agency-directed and consumer-directed personal care services options, as applicable;

6. (f) Notify individuals of his or her rights and responsibilities including:

   1. (1) The right to select their own personal care service worker:
   2. (2) The process for referring the individual’s selected personal care service worker to the OQA for hire; and
   3. (3) The OQA’s criteria for selecting or not selecting the personal care service worker chosen by the individual;

7. (g) Develop and implement a system for receiving and processing complaints including:

   1. (1) A complaint and appeal process;
   2. (2) Referrals to the department’s ombudsman program in accordance with RSA 161-F:10-19; and
   3. (3) Reports made in accordance with RSA 161-F:46;
8. (h) Prepare and distribute person-centered plans, both initial and revised, to individuals and representatives upon request;

9. (i) Prepare and maintain a policies and procedures manual that contains:

   1. (1) Written policies and procedures for all operational tasks performed and services provided by the agency including agency-directed or consumer-directed personal care services or both;
   2. (2) A confidentiality policy;
   3. (3) A drug free work place statement;
   4. (4) A prohibition of sexual harassment statement;
   5. (5) An individual site and home safety checklist;
   6. (6) A universal precautions policy; and
   7. (7) A proper lifting techniques and body mechanics policy;

10. (j) Develop and maintain a system for customer service and for the provision of personal care services, including:

    1. (1) A toll-free number by which individuals can access OQA customer services including a statement of the OQA’s business hours and appropriate staff contacts;
    2. (2) A system for returning all calls received during and after regular business hours and prior to the close of the next business day after receipt, respectively;
    3. (3) A system for tracking communications with and complaints/grievances from individuals and for resolving issues in an effective manner;
    4. (4) A communication access plan for the provision of communication access for clients with limited English proficiency, deafness or hearing loss, vision loss, or speech impairments; and
    5. (5) The availability of alternative communication formats;
11. (k) Establish terms and conditions of employment;
12. (l) Ensure that the personal care service worker is able to meet the needs of the individual to be served;

13. (m) Prior to employment, conduct and document:

    1. (1) A criminal background check pursuant to RSA 161-I:6-a, and He-P 601.11; and
    2. (2) A NH central registry check pursuant to RSA 161-F:49;

14. (n) Prior to personal care service workers providing services to an individual:

    1. (1) Have evidence of a 2-step tuberculosis testing, mantoux method, or other method approved by the Centers for Disease Control, conducted not more than 12 months prior to employment;
    2. (2) Allow the personal care service worker to begin providing services if the TB test results are negative for the first step, and the personal care service worker is awaiting the results of the second step of the TB test; and
    3. (3) Comply with the requirements of the Centers for Disease Control “Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of M. tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings” (2005 edition), available as noted in Appendix A, if the person has either a positive TB test, or has had direct contact or potential for occupational exposure to M. tuberculosis through shared air space with persons with infectious tuberculosis;
15. (o) Complete reference checks for potential personal care service workers if requested by the individual in writing via letter, e-mail, or fax;

16. (p) Provide information to individuals or their representatives about employing a consumer-directed personal care service worker including, but not limited to:

    1. (1) Techniques for interviewing and screening personal care service workers;
    2. (2) Preparing interview questions;
    3. (3) How to schedule and conduct an interview with a prospective personal care services worker;
    4. (4) The process for referring selected personal care service workers to the OQA for hire;
    5. (5) The process for informing candidates that they have not been selected for employment; and
    6. (6) Techniques for supervising personal care service workers;
17. (q) Develop a process for receiving and reviewing completed personal care service worker applications;

18. (r) Develop a personal care service worker’s employment package including but not limited to:

    1. (1) A personal care service worker’s handbook;
    2. (2) An employment application;
    3. (3) INS Form I-9, Verification of Citizenship and Alien Status, with instructions and completed example;
    4. (4) IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate with instructions and completed example;
    5. (5) IRS Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC);
    6. (6) The hiring criteria and requirements used by the OQA for rejecting a personal care service worker for employment who was recruited and referred by an individual;
    7. (7) A confidentiality policy;
    8. (8) A drug free work place statement;
    9. (9) A statement on the prohibition of sexual harassment statement;
    10. (10) A statement signed by the individual or the representative and the personal care service workers stating that the worker has the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to meet the individual’s personal care services needs;
    11. (11) The agreement form signed by every individual or representative agreeing to abide by OQA policies and procedures;
    12. (12) Payroll pay days schedule that the personal care service worker’s paychecks are issued; and
    13. (13) The payroll schedule illustrating when verification of the personal care service worker’s time worked are to be completed;

19. (s) Develop and maintain a system for collecting and verifying the following information:

    1. (1) The name and address of the individual receiving personal care services;
    2. (2) The name of the personal care service worker;
    3. (3) The day of the week, date, and amount of time spent providing each occurrence of personal care services; and
    4. (4) The total number of units of service provided during the time period documented;

20. (t) Include the following on paper timesheets when they are used:

    1. (1) The signature of the individual receiving or directing the personal care services indicating that the service was provided in accordance with the care plan, and to the individual’s satisfaction; and
    2. (2) The signature or equivalent evidence/verification of the personal care service worker indicating that the information provided is accurate and signifying that the employee understands that falsification of information provided could lead to prosecution;

21. (u) Develop and implement a process for distributing personal care service worker’s payroll checks, ensuring that:

    1. (1) The OQA is in compliance with federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws;
    2. (2) Only approved hours are reimbursed; and
    3. (3) The OQA has the option of paying workers via direct deposit or mailing paychecks to workers’ homes;
22. (v) Assist individuals and representatives to develop of an emergency back-up plan in the event that the personal care service worker fails to report for work;

23. (w) Implement procedures for:

    1. (1) Comparing the information verified in (s) above with the individual’s person-centered plan described in (c);
    2. (2) Notifying the individual or representative when information regarding the time worked does not reconcile and facilitating the resolution of issues before payroll is processed;
    3. (3) The evaluation of the personal care service worker performance; and
    4. (4) The termination of a personal care service worker;
24. (x) For OQAs that offer consumer-directed personal care services, develop and maintain a personal care service worker registry that individuals and representatives can access when recruiting their personal care service workers;

25. (y) Ensure that:

    1. (1) Individuals or their representatives train their consumer-directed personal care service workers; and
    2. (2) Workers providing consumer-directed personal care services can access other training opportunities as deemed necessary by the individual or their representative receiving services;

26. (z) Provide orientation to personal care service workers that includes but is not limited to:

    1. (1) Agency policies and processes including those dealing with confidentiality;
    2. (2) The individual’s bill of rights;
    3. (3) Mandated adult protective services (APS) reporting;
    4. (4) Health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) basics;
    5. (5) Blood-borne pathogens and universal precautions; and
    6. (6) Basic lifting techniques;
27. (aa) Conduct skills training at the agency or individual’s home, including a description of the skills training topics available;
28. (ab) Develop techniques for orienting and training personal care service workers and document the training provided;
29. (ac) Report to the appropriate authority any individual who is suspected of being abused, neglected, exploited, or self-neglecting, in accordance with the adult protection law, RSA 161-F:46;
30. (ad) Initiate action to maintain the OQA in full compliance at all times with the health and safety requirements contained in applicable federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances;
31. (ae) Possess and maintain written proof of insurance coverage as required by applicable state or local laws and rules;
32. (af) Comply with the department’s quality assurance procedures in accordance with RSA 126-A:4, IV and these rules;

33. (ag) Identify, report, and manage:

    1. (1) Personal care service worker-related injuries;
    2. (2) Individual’s injuries; and
    3. (3) General incidence reporting;

34. (ah) Maintain and make available safety information, including, but not limited to:

    1. (1) An individual site and home safety checklist;
    2. (2) Procedures for identifying and reporting personal care service worker’s injuries;
    3. (3) Procedures for addressing emergencies;
    4. (4) Emergency contact people and telephone numbers to contact at the OQA; and
    5. (5) Procedures regarding universal precautions and safe lifting techniques;

35. (ai) Establish a disaster recovery plan for computer files that addresses:

    1. (1) The estimated time for the return to operation; and
    2. (2) The accuracy of software and data at return to operation;
36. (aj) Ensure all personnel utilize universal precautions as defined in He-P 601.03(w); and

37. (ak) Comply with and make available upon request any licensing or certification requirements required by applicable federal, state, or local laws and/or rules.

    Source. (See Revision Notes # 1 and #2 at chapter heading for He-P 600) #9898-A, eff 3-29-11; amd by #9959, eff 7-26-11 (para (n)); EXPIRED 3-19-19 in paras (a)-(m) and (o)-(ak); EXPIRED 7-26-19 in para (n)

    New #13115, eff 10-1-20.