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144A.48 Hospice programs.

Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given to them:

(1) "Core services" means physician services, registered nursing services, medical social services, pastoral care or other counseling services, and volunteer services that are provided either directly by the hospice program or through a service contract or other arrangement;

(2) "Hospice patient" means an individual who has been diagnosed as terminally ill with a probable life expectancy of under one year, as documented by the individual's attending physician, and who alone or, when unable, through the hospice patient's family has voluntarily consented to and received admission to a hospice program;

(3) "Hospice patient's family" means relatives of the hospice patient, the hospice patient's guardian, primary caregivers, or persons identified by the hospice patient as having significant personal ties;

(4) "Hospice program" means palliative and supportive care and other services provided by an interdisciplinary team under the direction of an identifiable hospice administration to terminally ill hospice patients and their families to meet the physical, nutritional, emotional, social, spiritual, and special needs experienced during the final stages of illness, dying, and bereavement, through a centrally coordinated program that ensures continuity and consistency of home and inpatient care provided directly or through an agreement;

(5) "Interdisciplinary team" means a group of qualified individuals with expertise in meeting the special needs of hospice patients and their families, including, at a minimum, those individuals who are providers of core services;

(6) "Palliative care" means care directed at managing the symptoms experienced by the hospice patient and intended to enhance the quality of life for the hospice patient and the patient's family, but not directed at curing the illness;

(7) "Residential hospice facility" means a facility that houses no more than eight hospice patients, located in a residential area in a facility that resembles a single-family home, that directly provides 24-hour residential and support services in a home-like setting for hospice patients as an integral part of the continuum of home care provided by a hospice licensed under subdivision 2; and

(8) "Volunteer services" means services by volunteers who provide a personal presence that augments a variety of professional and nonprofessional services available to the hospice patient, the patient's family, and the hospice program.

Subd. 2. License requirements. A hospice program may not operate in the state or use the words "hospice" or "hospice program" without a current license issued by the commissioner of health. The commissioner shall license hospice programs using the powers and authorities contained in sections 144A.43 to 144A.47. In addition a hospice program must provide:

(1) centrally coordinated hospice core services in the home and inpatient settings;

(2) that the medical components of the hospice program are under the direction of a licensed physician who serves as medical director;

(3) that the palliative medical care provided to a hospice patient is under the direction of the attending physician;

(4) an interdisciplinary team that meets regularly to develop, implement, and evaluate the hospice program's plan of care for each hospice patient and the patient's family;

(5) accessible hospice care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week;

(6) an ongoing system of quality assurance;

(7) that volunteer services are provided by individuals who have completed a hospice training program and are qualified to provide the services;

(8) a planned program of supportive services available to patients' families during the bereavement period; and

(9) that inpatient services are provided directly or by arrangement in a licensed hospital or nursing home.

Subd. 3. Required inspections. The commissioner shall inspect the hospice program, the home care and the inpatient care provided by the hospice program to determine if the requirements of sections 144A.45 to 144A.48 are met.

Subd. 4. Rule authority. The commissioner shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section.

Subd. 5. License designation. A license issued to a home care provider meeting the requirements contained in this section shall indicate that the provider is qualified to offer hospice care.

Subd. 6. Residential hospice. A hospice program may operate a residential hospice facility for hospice patients if it is:

(1) licensed as a hospice program under this section;

(2) licensed as a class B supervised living facility under section 144.50, subdivision 6, provided that:

(i) the residential hospice facility is not required to obtain a program license from the department of human services under Minnesota Rules, part 4665.0700; and

(ii) for purposes of the State Building Code and State Uniform Fire Code, the facility meets group R, division 3, occupancy requirements for six or less persons and group R, division 1, occupancy requirements for seven to eight persons; and

(3) in compliance with the fire protection provisions of chapter 21 of the 1988 Life Safety Code, NFPA 101, for facilities housing persons with impractical evacuation capabilities, as a minimum.

HIST: 1987 c 378 s 8; 1992 c 595 s 23,24; 1998 c 254 art 1 s 35

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