Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Activities of daily living" or "ADLs" means bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, bowel control, bladder control, eating, and feeding. A person's degree of independence in performing these activities is a part of determining required care needs and necessary services.

"Administer medication" means to open a container of medicine or to remove the ordered dosage and to give it to the participant for whom it is ordered in such a manner as is ordered or is appropriate.

"Adult" means any person 18 years of age or older.

"Adult day center" or "center" means any facility that is either operated for profit or that desires licensure and that provides supplementary care and protection during only a part of the day to four or more adults who are aged or infirm or who have disabilities and who reside elsewhere, except (i) a facility or portion of a facility licensed by the State Board of Health or the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and (ii) the home or residence of an individual who cares for only persons related to the individual by blood or marriage. Included in this definition are any two or more places, establishments, or institutions owned, operated, or controlled by a single entity and providing such supplementary care and protection to a combined total of four or more adults who are aged or infirm or who have disabilities.

"Advance directive" means (i) a witnessed written document, voluntarily executed by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of § 54.1-2983 of the Code of Virginia or (ii) a witnessed oral statement, made by the declarant subsequent to the time the declarant is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition and in accordance with the provisions of § 54.1-2983 of the Code of Virginia.

"Ambulatory" means the condition of a participant who is physically and mentally capable of self-preservation by evacuating in response to an emergency to a refuge area as described in 13VAC5-63, the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, without the assistance of another person, or from the structure itself without the assistance of another person if there is no such refuge area within the structure, even if such participant may require the assistance of a wheelchair, walker, cane, prosthetic device, or a single verbal command to evacuate.

"Business entity" means an individual or sole proprietor, association, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, public agency, or religious organization.

"Chapter" or "this chapter" means these regulations, that is, Standards and Regulations for Licensed Adult Day Centers, 22VAC40-61, unless noted otherwise.

"Chemical restraint" means a psychopharmacologic drug that is used for discipline or convenience and not required to treat the participant's medical symptoms or symptoms from mental illness or intellectual disability and that prohibits an individual from reaching the participant's highest level of functioning.

"Communicable disease" means an illness that spreads from one person to another or from an animal to a person.

"CPR" means cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Social Services.

"Dietary supplement" means a product intended for ingestion that supplements the diet, is labeled as a dietary supplement, is not represented as a sole item of a meal or diet, and contains a dietary ingredient, for example, vitamins, minerals, amino acid, herbs or other botanicals, dietary substances (such as enzymes) and concentrates, metabolites, constituents, extracts, or combinations of the preceding types of ingredients. "Dietary supplements" may be found in many forms, such as tablets, capsules, liquids, or bars.

"Direct care staff" means supervisors, assistants, aides, or other staff of a center who assist participants in the performance of personal care or ADLs.

"Director" means the qualified person who has been delegated responsibility for the programmatic and administrative functions of the adult day center.

"Electronic record" means a record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.

"Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.

"Good character and reputation" means findings have been established that the individual (i) maintains business or professional and community relationships that are characterized by honesty, fairness, truthfulness, and dependability and (ii) has a history or pattern of behavior that demonstrates the individual is suitable and able to administer a program for the care, supervision, and protection of adults.

"Legal representative" means a person legally responsible for representing or standing in the place of the participant for the conduct of the participant's affairs. "Legal representative" may include a guardian, conservator, attorney-in-fact under durable power of attorney, trustee, or other person expressly named by a court of competent jurisdiction or the participant as the participant's agent in a legal document that specifies the scope of the representative's authority to act. A legal representative may only represent or stand in the place of a participant for the function for which the legal representative has legal authority to act. A participant is presumed competent and is responsible for making all health care, personal care, financial, and other personal decisions that affect the participant's life unless a representative with legal authority has been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction or has been appointed by the participant in a properly executed and signed document. A participant may have different legal representatives for different functions. For any given standard, the term "legal representative" applies solely to the legal representative with the authority to act in regard to the function relevant to that particular standard.

"Licensed health care professional" means any health care professional currently licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to practice within the scope of that health care professional's profession, such as a nurse practitioner, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse (nurses may be licensed or hold multistate licensure pursuant to § 54.1-3000 of the Code of Virginia), clinical social worker, dentist, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, physician assistant, psychologist, and speech-language pathologist. Responsibilities of physicians referenced in this chapter may be implemented by nurse practitioners or physician assistants in accordance with their protocols or practice agreements with their supervising physicians and in accordance with the law.

"Licensee" means the business entity to whom a license is issued and who is legally responsible for compliance with the laws and regulations related to the center. A license may not be issued in the name of more than one business entity.

"Mandated reporter" means a person specified in § 63.2-1606 of the Code of Virginia who is required to report matters giving reason to suspect abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an adult.

"Mental impairment" means a disability that reduces an individual's ability to reason logically, make appropriate decisions, or engage in purposeful behavior.

"Nonambulatory" means the condition of a participant who by reason of physical or mental impairment is not capable of self-preservation without the assistance of another person.

"Participant" means an adult who takes part in the program of care and receives services from the center.

"Physical restraint" means any manual method or physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to the participant's body that the participant cannot remove easily, which restricts freedom of movement or access to the participant's body.

"Physician" means an individual licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

"Qualified" means having appropriate training and experience commensurate with assigned responsibilities, or if referring to a professional, possessing an appropriate degree or having documented equivalent education, training, or experience.

"Significant change" means a change in a participant's condition that is expected to last longer than 30 days. "Significant change" does not include short-term changes that resolve with or without intervention, a short-term acute illness or episodic event, or a well-established, predictive, cyclic pattern of clinical signs and symptoms associated with a previously diagnosed condition where an appropriate course of treatment is in progress.

"Staff" or "staff person" means personnel working at a center who are compensated or have a financial interest in the center, regardless of role, service, age, function, or duration of employment at the center. "Staff" or "staff person" also includes those individuals hired through a contract with the center to provide services for the center.

"Standard precautions" means a set of basic infection prevention practices intended to prevent transmission of infectious diseases from one person to another. These practices are applied to every person at every contact to ensure that transmission of disease does not occur.

"Volunteer" means a person who works at the center who is not compensated. "Volunteer" does not include a person who, either as an individual or as part of an organization, is only present at or facilitates group activities on an occasional basis or for special events.