GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1993 SESSION

CHAPTER 698
HOUSE BILL 740

AN ACT TO DESIGNATE A RELATIVE OF A NURSING HOME PATIENT AND A RELATIVE OF A REST HOME PATIENT AS PUBLIC MEMBERS OF THE NURSING HOME PENALTY REVIEW COMMITTEE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 131D-34(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h)	The Secretary shall establish a penalty review committee within the Department, which shall review administrative penalties assessed pursuant to this section and pursuant to G.S. 131E-129.  The Secretary shall ensure that departmental staff review of local departments of social services' penalty recommendations along with prepared staff recommendations for the penalty review committee are completed within 60 days of receipt by the Department of the local recommendations.  The Penalty Review Committee shall not review penalty recommendations agreed to by the Department and the long-term care facility for Type B violations except those violations that have been previously cited against the long-term care facility during the previous 12 months or within the time period of the previous licensure inspection, whichever time period is longer.  The Secretary shall ensure that the Nursing Home/Rest Home Penalty Review Committee established by this subsection is comprised of nine members.  At least one member shall be appointed from each of the following categories:
(1)	A licensed pharmacist;
(2)	A registered nurse experienced in long-term care;
(3)	A representative of a nursing home;
(4)	A representative of a domiciliary home; and
(5)	Two public members.  One shall be a 'near' relative of a nursing home patient, chosen from a list prepared by the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Division of Aging, Department of Human Resources.  One shall be a 'near' relative of a rest home patient, chosen from a list prepared by the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Division of Aging, Department of Human Resources.  For purposes of this subdivision, a 'near' relative is a spouse, sibling, parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild.
Neither the pharmacist, nurse, nor public members appointed under this subsection nor any member of their immediate families shall be employed by or own any interest in a nursing home or domiciliary home.
Each member of the Committee shall serve a term of two years.  The initial terms of the members shall commence on August 3, 1989.  The Secretary shall fill all vacancies.  Unexcused absences from three consecutive meetings constitute resignation from the Committee."
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of July, 1994.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives