To amend sections 3721.01, 3721.02, 3721.021, 3721.03, 3721.07, 3721.08, 3721.09, and 3721.99 and to enact section 3721.051 of the Revised Code to provide that a county home or district home may be licensed as a residential care facility and, if licensed, the laws and rules governing residential care facilities apply to the home.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Sec. 3721.01. (A) As used in sections 3721.01 to 3721.09 and 3721.99 of the Revised Code:

(1)(a) "Home" means an institution, residence, or facility that provides, for a period of more than twenty-four hours, whether for a consideration or not, accommodations to three or more unrelated individuals who are dependent upon the services of others, including a nursing home, residential care facility, home for the aging, and the Ohio veterans' home.

(b) "Home" also means any BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING:

(i) ANY facility that a person, as defined in section 3702.51 of the Revised Code, proposes for certification as a skilled nursing facility or nursing facility under Title XVIII or XIX of the "Social Security Act," 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, and for which a certificate of need, other than a certificate to recategorize hospital beds as described in section 3702.522 of the Revised Code or division (R)(7)(d) of the version of section 3702.51 of the Revised Code in effect immediately prior to April 20, 1995, has been granted to the person under sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code after August 5, 1989;

(ii) A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME THAT IS OR HAS BEEN LICENSED AS A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY.

(c) "Home" does not mean any of the following:

(i) Except as provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, a public hospital or hospital as defined in section 3701.01 or 5122.01 of the Revised Code;

(ii) A residential facility for mentally ill persons as defined under section 5119.22 of the Revised Code;

(iii) A residential facility as defined in section 5123.19 of the Revised Code;

(iv) A habilitation center as defined in section 5123.041 of the Revised Code;

(v) A community alternative home as defined in section 3724.01 of the Revised Code;

(vi) An adult care facility as defined in section 3722.01 of the Revised Code;

(vii) An alcohol or drug addiction program as defined in section 3793.01 of the Revised Code;

(viii) A facility licensed to provide methadone treatment under section 3793.11 of the Revised Code;

(ix) A facility providing services under contract with the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities under section 5123.18 of the Revised Code;

(x) A facility operated by a hospice care program licensed under section 3712.04 of the Revised Code that is used exclusively for care of hospice patients;

(xi) A facility, infirmary, or other entity that is operated by a religious order, provides care exclusively to members of religious orders who take vows of celibacy and live by virtue of their vows within the orders as if related, and does not participate in the medicare program established under Title XVIII of the "Social Security Act" or the medical assistance program established under Chapter 5111. of the Revised Code and Title XIX of the "Social Security Act," if on January 1, 1994, the facility, infirmary, or entity was providing care exclusively to members of the religious order;

(xii) A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME THAT HAS NEVER BEEN LICENSED AS A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY.

(2) "Unrelated individual" means one who is not related to the owner or operator of a home or to the spouse of the owner or operator as a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or as the child of an aunt or uncle.

(3) "Mental impairment" does not mean mental illness as defined in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code or mental retardation as defined in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Skilled nursing care" means procedures that require technical skills and knowledge beyond those the untrained person possesses and that are commonly employed in providing for the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated. "Skilled nursing care" includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Irrigations, catheterizations, application of dressings, and supervision of special diets;

(b) Objective observation of changes in the patient's condition as a means of analyzing and determining the nursing care required and the need for further medical diagnosis and treatment;

(c) Special procedures contributing to rehabilitation;

(d) Administration of medication by any method ordered by a physician, such as hypodermically, rectally, or orally, including observation of the patient after receipt of the medication;

(e) Carrying out other treatments prescribed by the physician that involve a similar level of complexity and skill in administration.

(5)(a) "Personal care services" means services including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Assisting residents with activities of daily living;

(ii) Assisting residents with self-administration of medication, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3721.04 of the Revised Code;

(iii) Preparing special diets, other than complex therapeutic diets, for residents pursuant to the instructions of a physician or a licensed dietitian, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3721.04 of the Revised Code.

(b) "Personal care services" does not include "skilled nursing care" as defined in division (A)(4) of this section. A facility need not provide more than one of the services listed in division (A)(5)(a) of this section to be considered to be providing personal care services.

(6) "Nursing home" means a home used for the reception and care of individuals who by reason of illness or physical or mental impairment require skilled nursing care and of individuals who require personal care services but not skilled nursing care. A nursing home is licensed to provide personal care services and skilled nursing care.

(7) "Residential care facility" means a home that provides either of the following:

(a) Accommodations for seventeen or more unrelated individuals and supervision and personal care services for three or more of those individuals who are dependent on the services of others by reason of age or physical or mental impairment;

(b) Accommodations for three or more unrelated individuals, supervision and personal care services for at least three of those individuals who are dependent on the services of others by reason of age or physical or mental impairment, and, to at least one of those individuals, any of the skilled nursing care authorized by section 3721.011 of the Revised Code.

(8) "Home for the aging" means a home that provides services as a residential care facility and a nursing home, except that the home provides its services only to individuals who are dependent on the services of others by reason of both age and physical or mental impairment.

The part or unit of a home for the aging that provides services only as a residential care facility is licensed as a residential care facility. The part or unit that may provide skilled nursing care beyond the extent authorized by section 3721.011 of the Revised Code is licensed as a nursing home.

(9) "COUNTY HOME" AND "DISTRICT HOME" MEAN A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME OPERATED UNDER CHAPTER 5155. OF THE REVISED CODE.

(B) The public health council may further classify homes. For the purposes of this chapter, any residence, institution, hotel, congregate housing project, or similar facility that meets the definition of a home under this section is such a home regardless of how the facility holds itself out to the public.

(C) For purposes of this chapter, personal care services or skilled nursing care shall be considered to be provided by a facility if they are provided by a person employed by or associated with the facility or by another person pursuant to an agreement to which neither the resident who receives the services nor his THE RESIDENT'S sponsor is a party.

(D) Nothing in division (A)(4) of this section shall be construed to permit skilled nursing care to be imposed on an individual who does not require skilled nursing care.

Nothing in division (A)(5) of this section shall be construed to permit personal care services to be imposed on an individual who is capable of performing the activity in question without assistance.

(E) Division (A)(1)(c)(xi) of this section does not prohibit a facility, infirmary, or other entity described in that division from seeking licensure under sections 3721.01 to 3721.09 of the Revised Code or certification under Title XVIII or XIX of the "Social Security Act." However, such a facility, infirmary, or entity that applies for licensure or certification must meet the requirements of those sections or titles and the rules adopted under them and obtain a certificate of need from the director of health under section 3702.52 of the Revised Code.

(F) Nothing in this chapter, or rules adopted pursuant to it, shall be construed as authorizing the supervision, regulation, or control of the spiritual care or treatment of residents or patients in any home who rely upon treatment by prayer or spiritual means in accordance with the creed or tenets of any recognized church or religious denomination.

Sec. 3721.02. The director of health shall license homes and establish procedures to be followed in inspecting and licensing homes. The director may inspect a home at any time. Each home shall be inspected by the director at least once prior to the issuance of a license and at least once every fifteen months thereafter. The state fire marshal or a township, municipal, or other legally constituted fire department approved by the marshal shall also inspect a home prior to issuance of a license, at least once every fifteen months thereafter, and at any other time requested by the director. A home does not have to be inspected prior to issuance of a license by the director, state fire marshal, or a fire department if ownership of the home is assigned or transferred to a different person and the home was licensed under this chapter immediately prior to the assignment or transfer. The director may enter at any time, for the purposes of investigation, any institution, residence, facility, or other structure which has been reported to the director or that the director has reasonable cause to believe is operating as a, nursing home, residential care facility, or home for the aging without a valid license REQUIRED BY SECTION 3721.05 OF THE REVISED CODE OR, IN THE CASE OF A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME, IS OPERATING DESPITE THE REVOCATION OF ITS RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY LICENSE. The director may delegate his THE DIRECTOR'S authority and duties under this chapter to any division, bureau, agency, or official of the department of health.

A single facility may be licensed both as a nursing home pursuant to this chapter and as an adult care facility pursuant to Chapter 3722. of the Revised Code if the director determines that the part or unit to be licensed as a nursing home can be maintained separate and discrete from the part or unit to be licensed as an adult care facility.

In determining the number of residents in a home for the purpose of licensing, the director shall consider all the individuals for whom the home provides accommodations as one group unless one of the following is the case:

(A) The home is a home for the aging, in which case all the individuals in the part or unit licensed as a nursing home shall be considered as one group and all the individuals in the part or unit licensed as a rest home shall be considered as another group;

(B) The home is both a nursing home and an adult care facility. In that case, all the individuals in the part or unit licensed as a nursing home shall be considered as one group and all the individuals in the part or unit licensed as an adult care facility shall be considered as another group.

(C) The home maintains, in addition to a nursing home or residential care facility, a separate and discrete part or unit that provides accommodations to individuals who do not require or receive skilled nursing care and do not receive personal care services from the home, in which case the individuals in the separate and discrete part or unit shall not be considered in determining the number of residents in the home if the separate and discrete part or unit is in compliance with the Ohio basic building code established by the board of building standards under Chapters 3781. and 3791. of the Revised Code and the home permits the director, on request, to inspect the separate and discrete part or unit and speak with the individuals residing there, if they consent, to determine whether the separate and discrete part or unit meets the requirements of this division.

The director of health shall charge an application fee and an annual renewal licensing and inspection fee of one hundred dollars for each fifty persons or part thereof of a home's licensed capacity. All fees collected by the director for the issuance or renewal of licenses shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the general operations fund created in section 3701.83 of the Revised Code for use only in administering and enforcing this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Sec. 3721.021. Every person who operates a home, as defined in section 3721.01 of the Revised Code, AND EACH COUNTY HOME AND DISTRICT HOME LICENSED AS A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY shall have available in the home for review by prospective patients and residents, their guardians, or other persons assisting in their placement, each inspection report completed pursuant to section 3721.02 of the Revised Code and each statement of deficiencies and plan of correction completed and made available to the public under Titles XVIII and XIX of the "Social Security Act," 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C. 301, as amended, and any rules promulgated under Titles XVIII and XIX, including such reports that result from life safety code and health inspections during the preceding three years, and shall post prominently within the home a notice of this requirement.

Sec. 3721.03. The director of health shall enforce the provisions of sections 3721.01 to 3721.09 and 3721.99 of the Revised Code and may issue orders to secure compliance with the provisions of these sections and the rules adopted under them. He THE DIRECTOR may hold hearings, issue subpoenas, compel testimony, and make adjudications. In the event the director finds, upon hearing or opportunity afforded therefor, that any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation, COUNTY HOME, OR DISTRICT HOME licensed under section 3721.07 of the Revised Code is in violation of any of the provisions of Chapter 3721. of the Revised Code or rules adopted by the public health council under it; is in violation of any order issued by the director; is not, or any of its principals are not suitable, morally or financially to operate such an institution; or is not furnishing humane, kind, and adequate treatment and care, the director may issue an order revoking the license previously issued by him THE DIRECTOR. Upon the issuance of any order of revocation, the person whose license is revoked, OR THE COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME THAT HAS ITS LICENSE REVOKED, may appeal in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

The state fire marshal shall enforce all statutes and rules pertaining to fire safety in homes and shall adopt rules pertaining to fire safety in homes as he THE MARSHAL determines necessary. The rules adopted by the marshal shall be in addition to those fire safety rules that the board of building standards and the public health council are empowered to adopt and shall be adopted prior to December 31, 1972. In the event of a dispute between the marshal and another officer having responsibilities under sections 3721.01 to 3721.09 of the Revised Code with respect to the interpretation or application of a specific fire safety statute or rule, the interpretation of the marshal shall prevail.

If the ownership of a home is assigned or tranferred TRANSFERRED to a different person, the new owner is responsible and liable for compliance with any notice of proposed action or order issued under this section in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prior to the effective date of the assignment or transfer.

Sec. 3721.051. NO COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME LICENSED UNDER SECTION 3721.07 OF THE REVISED CODE SHALL DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

(A) VIOLATE ANY OF THE CONDITIONS OR REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY FOR LICENSING AFTER THE LICENSE HAS BEEN ISSUED;

(B) CONTINUE OPERATION AFTER ITS LICENSE HAS BEEN REVOKED BY THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH;

(C) FAIL TO BE OPEN FOR AN INSPECTION, OR INTERFERE WITH AN INSPECTION, BY A STATE OR LOCAL OFFICIAL PERFORMING INSPECTION DUTIES UNDER CHAPTER 3721. OF THE REVISED CODE;

(D) VIOLATE ANY OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER OR ANY RULES ADOPTED THEREUNDER.

Sec. 3721.07. Every person desiring to operate a home AND THE SUPERINTENDENT OR ADMINISTRATOR OF EACH COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME FOR WHICH A LICENSE AS A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY IS SOUGHT shall apply for a license to the director of health. The director shall issue a license for the home, if after investigation of the applicant and, if required by section 3721.02 of the Revised Code, inspection of the home, the following requirements or conditions are satisfied or complied with:

(A) The applicant has not been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude;

(B) The applicant is not violating any of the rules made by the public health council or any order issued by the director of health;

(C) The buildings in which the home is housed have been approved by the state fire marshal or a township, municipal, or other legally constituted fire department approved by the marshal. In the approval of a home such agencies shall apply standards prescribed by the board of building standards, and by the state fire marshal, and by section 3721.071 of the Revised Code.

(D) The applicant, if it is an individual, or the principal participants, if it is an association or a corporation, is or are suitable financially and morally to operate a home;

(E) The applicant is equipped to furnish humane, kind, and adequate treatment and care;

(F) The home does not maintain or contain:

(1) Facilities for the performance of major surgical procedures;

(2) Facilities for providing therapeutic radiation;

(3) An emergency ward;

(4) A clinical laboratory unless it is under the supervision of a clinical pathologist who is a licensed physician in this state;

(5) Facilities for radiological examinations unless such examinations are performed only by a person licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or dentistry in this state.

(G) The home does not accept or treat outpatients, except upon the written orders of a physician licensed in this state, maternity cases, boarding children, and does not house transient guests, other than participants in an adult day-care program, for twenty-four hours or less;

(H) The home is in compliance with sections 3721.28 and 3721.29 of the Revised Code.

When the director issues a license, the license shall remain in effect until revoked by the director or voided at the request of the applicant; provided, there shall be an annual renewal fee payable during the month of January of each calendar year. Any licensed home that does not pay its renewal fee in January shall pay, beginning the first day of February, a late fee of one hundred dollars for each week or part thereof that the renewal fee is not paid. If either the renewal fee or the late fee is not paid by the fifteenth day of February, the director may, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, revoke the home's license.

A person whose license is revoked, AND A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME THAT HAS ITS LICENSE AS A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY REVOKED, for any reason other than nonpayment of the license renewal fee or late fees may not apply for a new license under this chapter until a period of one year following the date of revocation has elapsed.

Any applicant who is denied a license may appeal in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3721.08. (A) As used in this section, "real and present danger" means imminent danger of serious physical or life-threatening harm to one or more occupants of a home.

(B) The director of health may petition the court of common pleas of the county in which the home is located for an order enjoining any person from operating a home without a license OR ENJOINING A COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME THAT HAS HAD ITS LICENSE REVOKED FROM CONTINUING TO OPERATE. The court shall have jurisdiction to grant such injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the petition is operating a home without a license OR THAT THE COUNTY HOME OR DISTRICT HOME NAMED IN THE PETITION IS OPERATING DESPITE THE REVOCATION OF ITS LICENSE. The court shall have jurisdiction to grant such injunctive relief against the operation of a home without a VALID license regardless of whether the home meets essential licensing requirements.

(C) Unless the department of human services or contracting agency has taken action under section 5111.51 of the Revised Code to appoint a temporary manager or seek injunctive relief, if, in the judgment of the director of health, real and present danger exists at any home, the director may petition the court of common pleas of the county in which the home is located for such injunctive relief as is necessary to close the home, transfer one or more occupants to other homes or other appropriate care settings, or otherwise eliminate the real and present danger. The court shall have the jurisdiction to grant such injunctive relief upon a showing that there is real and present danger.

(D)(1) If the director determines that real and present danger exists at a home and elects not to immediately seek injunctive relief under division (C) of this section, he THE DIRECTOR may give written notice of proposed action to the home. The notice shall specify all of the following:

(a) The nature of the conditions giving rise to the real and present danger;

(b) The measures that the director determines the home must take to respond to the conditions;

(c) The date on which the director intends to seek injunctive relief under division (C) of this section if he THE DIRECTOR determines that real and present danger exists at the home.

(2) If the home notifies the director, within the time specified pursuant to division (D)(1)(c) of this section, that it believes the conditions giving rise to the real and present danger have been substantially corrected, the director shall conduct an inspection to determine whether real and present danger exists. If the director determines on the basis of the inspection that real and present danger exists, he THE DIRECTOR may petition under division (C) of this section for injunctive relief.

(E)(1) If in the judgment of the director of health conditions exist at a home that will give rise to real and present danger if not corrected, the director shall give written notice of proposed action to the home. The notice shall specify all of the following:

(a) The nature of the conditions giving rise to the director's judgment;

(b) The measures that the director determines the home must take to respond to the conditions;

(c) The date, which shall be no less than ten days after the notice is delivered, on which the director intends to seek injunctive relief under division (C) of this section if the conditions are not substantially corrected and he THE DIRECTOR determines that a real and present danger exists.

(2) If the home notifies the director, within the period of time specified pursuant to division (E)(1)(c) of this section, that the conditions giving rise to the director's determination have been substantially corrected, the director shall conduct an inspection. If the director determines on the basis of the inspection that the conditions have not been corrected and a real and present danger exists, he THE DIRECTOR may petition under division (C) of this section for injunctive relief.

(F)(1) A court that grants injunctive relief under division (C) of this section may also appoint a special master who, subject to division (F)(2) of this section, shall have such powers and authority over the home and length of appointment as the court considers necessary. Subject to division (F)(2) of this section, the salary of a special master and any costs incurred by a special master shall be the obligation of the home.

(2) No special master shall enter into any employment contract on behalf of a home, or purchase with the home's funds any capital goods totaling more than ten thousand dollars, unless the special master has obtained approval for the contract or purchase from the home's operator or the court.

(G) If the director takes action under division (C), (D), or (E) of this section, he THE DIRECTOR may also appoint employees of the department of health to conduct on-site monitoring of the home. Appointment of monitors is not subject to appeal under Chapter 119. or any other section of the Revised Code. No employee of a home for which monitors are appointed, no person employed by the home within the previous two years, and no person who currently has a consulting contract with the department or a home, shall be appointed under this division. Every monitor shall have the professional qualifications necessary to monitor correction of the conditions that give rise to or, in the director's judgment, will give rise to real and present danger. The number of monitors present at a home at any given time shall not exceed one for every fifty residents, or fraction thereof.

(H) On finding that the real and present danger for which injunctive relief was granted under division (C) of this section has been eliminated and that the home's operator has demonstrated the capacity to prevent the real and present danger from recurring, the court shall terminate its jurisdiction over the home and return control and management of the home to the operator. If the real and present danger cannot be eliminated practicably within a reasonable time following appointment of a special master, the court may order the special master to close the home and transfer all residents to other homes or other appropriate care settings.

(I) The director of health shall give notice of proposed action under divisions (D) and (E) of this section to both of the following:

(1) The home's administrator;

(2) If the home is operated by an organization described in subsection 501(c)(3) and tax exempt under subsection 501(a) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended, the board of trustees of the organization; or, if the home is not operated by such an organization, the owner of the home.

Notices shall be delivered by certified mail or hand delivery. If notices are mailed, they shall be addressed to the persons specified in divisions (I)(1) and (2) of this section, as indicated in the department of health's records. If they are hand delivered, they shall be delivered to persons who would reasonably appear to the average prudent person to have authority to accept them.

(J) If ownership of a home is assigned or transferred to a different person, the new owner is responsible and liable for compliance with any notice of proposed action or order issued under this section prior to the effective date of the assignment or transfer.

Sec. 3721.09. Sections 3721.02, 3721.03, 3721.04, 3721.05, 3721.051, 3721.07, and 3721.08 of the Revised Code and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto are not applicable in political subdivisions which the the director of health, by annual certification, determines have adopted and are enforcing their own standards which are equal to or greater in their requirements than those of sections 3721.02, 3721.03, 3721.04, 3721.05, 3721.051, 3721.07, and 3721.08 of the Revised Code and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Officials of political subdivisions shall cooperate fully with the director and provide him THE DIRECTOR with information which he THE DIRECTOR finds necessary in order to make a determination.

Sec. 3721.99. (A) Whoever violates section 3721.021, division (B), (D), or (E) of section 3721.05, DIVISION (A), (C), OR (D) OF SECTION 3721.051, section 3721.06, division (A) of section 3721.22, division (A) or (B) of section 3721.24, or division (E) or (F) of section 3721.30 of the Revised Code shall be fined one hundred dollars for a first offense. For each subsequent offense, the violator shall be fined five hundred dollars.

(B) Whoever violates division (A) or (C) of section 3721.05 OR DIVISION (B) OF SECTION 3721.051 of the Revised Code shall be fined five thousand dollars for a first offense. For each subsequent offense, the violator shall be fined ten thousand dollars.

(C) Whoever violates division (D) of section 3721.031 or division (E) of section 3721.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of registering a false complaint, a misdemeanor of the first degree.