§ 63-1-1911. Inspections - Meetings - Reports - Departmental files.

A.  1.  Every building, institution, or establishment for which a license has been issued, including any facility operated by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, shall be periodically inspected by a duly appointed representative of the State Department of Health, pursuant to rules promulgated by the State Board of Health with the advice and counsel of the Long-Term Care Facility Advisory Board, created in Section 1-1923 of this title.

2.  Inspection reports shall be prepared on forms prescribed by the Commissioner with the advice and counsel of the Advisory Board.

B.  1.  The Department, whenever it deems necessary, shall inspect, survey, and evaluate every facility, including any facility operated by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, to determine compliance with applicable licensure and certification requirements and standards.  All inspections of facilities shall be unannounced.  The Department may have as many unannounced inspections as it deems necessary.

2.  The Department shall conduct at least one unannounced inspection per calendar year of all nursing facilities operated by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

3.  Any employee of the State Department of Health who discloses to any unauthorized person, prior to an inspection, information regarding an unannounced nursing home inspection required pursuant to the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor.  In addition, such action shall be construed to be a misuse of office and punishable as a violation of rules promulgated by the Ethics Commission.

4.a.              The Department may periodically visit a facility for the purpose of consultation and may notify the facility in advance of such a visit.  An inspection, survey, or evaluation, other than an inspection of financial records or a consultation visit, shall be conducted without prior notice to the facility.

b.              One person shall be invited by the Department from a statewide organization of the elderly to act as a citizen observer in unannounced inspections.  The individual may be a state or local ombudsman as defined by the Aging Services Division of the Department of Human Services, acting pursuant to the provisions of the Older Americans Act of 1965, Public Law No. 89-73, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 3001 et seq., as amended.

c.              The citizen observer shall be reimbursed for expenses in accordance with the provisions of the State Travel Reimbursement Act.

d.              An employee of a state or unit of a local government agency, charged with inspecting, surveying, and evaluating facilities, who aids, abets, assists, conceals, or conspires with a facility administrator or employee in violation of the provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act shall be guilty, upon conviction thereof, of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to dismissal from employment.

C.  The Department shall hold open meetings, as part of its routine licensure survey, in each of the licensed facilities to advise and to facilitate communication and cooperation between facility personnel and the residents of facilities in their mutual efforts to improve patient care.  Administrators, employees of the facility, residents, residents' relatives, friends, residents' representatives, and employees from appropriate state and federal agencies shall be encouraged to attend these meetings to contribute to this process.

D.  1.  The Department shall require periodic reports and shall have access to books, records, and other documents maintained by the facility to the extent necessary to implement the provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act and the rules promulgated pursuant thereto.

2.  Any holder of a license or applicant for a license shall be deemed to have given consent to any authorized officer, employee, or agent of the Department to enter and inspect the facility in accordance with the provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act.  Refusal to permit said entry or inspection, except for good cause, shall constitute grounds for remedial action or administrative penalty or both such action and penalty as provided in the Nursing Home Care Act.

E.  The Department shall maintain a file on each facility in the state.  All conditions and practices not in compliance with applicable standards shall be specifically stated.  If a violation is corrected or is subject to an approved plan of correction, such action shall be contained in the file.  Upon receiving a written request for a copy of the file documents, the Department shall send a copy of the document to any person making the written request.  The Department may charge a reasonable fee for copying costs.

Added by Laws 1980, c. 241, § 11, eff. Oct. 1, 1980.  Amended by Laws 1984, c. 39, § 1, operative July 1, 1984; Laws 1987, c. 98, § 24, emerg. eff. May 20, 1987; Laws 1991, c. 127, § 6, emerg. eff. April 29, 1991; Laws 1995, c. 230, § 11, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 2000, c. 340, § 15, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2013, c. 379, § 2, emerg. eff. May 29, 2013.