1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; modifying requirements for nursing 
  1.3             home administrators; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.4             section 144A.04, subdivision 5. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144A.04, 
  1.7   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 5.  [ADMINISTRATORS.] Except as otherwise provided by 
  1.9   this subdivision, a nursing home must have a full time licensed 
  1.10  nursing home administrator serving the facility.  In any nursing 
  1.11  home of less than 31 beds, the director of nursing services may 
  1.12  also serve as the licensed nursing home administrator.  Two 
  1.13  nursing homes under common ownership or management pursuant to a 
  1.14  lease or management contract having a total of 150 beds or less 
  1.15  and located within 75 miles of each other may share the services 
  1.16  of a licensed administrator if the administrator divides the 
  1.17  full-time work week between the two facilities in proportion to 
  1.18  the number of beds in each facility.  Every nursing home shall 
  1.19  have a person-in-charge on the premises at all times in the 
  1.20  absence of the licensed administrator.  The name of the person 
  1.21  in charge must be posted in a conspicuous place in the 
  1.22  facility.  The commissioner of health shall by rule promulgate 
  1.23  minimum education and experience requirements for 
  1.24  persons-in-charge, and may promulgate rules specifying the times 
  1.25  of day during which a licensed administrator must be on the 
  2.1   nursing home's premises.  In the absence of rules adopted by the 
  2.2   commissioner governing the division of an administrator's time 
  2.3   between two nursing homes, the administrator shall designate and 
  2.4   post the times the administrator will be on site in each home on 
  2.5   a regular basis.  A nursing home may employ as its administrator 
  2.6   the administrator of a hospital licensed pursuant to sections 
  2.7   144.50 to 144.56 if the individual is licensed as a nursing home 
  2.8   administrator pursuant to section 144A.20 and the nursing home 
  2.9   and hospital have a combined total of 150 beds or less and are 
  2.10  located within one mile of each other.  A nonproprietary 
  2.11  retirement home having fewer than 15 licensed nursing home beds 
  2.12  may share the services of a licensed administrator with a 
  2.13  nonproprietary nursing home, having fewer than 150 licensed 
  2.14  nursing home beds, that is located within 25 miles of the 
  2.15  retirement home.  A nursing home which is located in a facility 
  2.16  licensed as a hospital pursuant to sections 144.50 to 144.56, 
  2.17  may employ as its administrator the administrator of the 
  2.18  hospital if the individual meets minimum education and long term 
  2.19  care experience criteria set by rule of the commissioner of 
  2.20  health.