New Jersey § 26:2h-87

§ 26:2h-87.

a. As used in this section: “ Assisted living facility ” means an assisted living residence licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). “ Cohorting ” means the practice of grouping patients who are or are not colonized or infected

with the same organism to confine their care to one area and prevent contact with

other patients. “ Comprehensive personal care home ” means a comprehensive personal care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). “ Dementia care home ” means a dementia care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). “ Department ” means the Department of Health. “ Endemic level ” means the usual level of given disease in a geographic area. “ Facility ” means an assisted living facility, a comprehensive personal care home, a dementia

care home, or a residential health care facility. “ Isolating ” means the process of separating sick, contagious persons from those who are not

sick. “ Outbreak ” means any unusual occurrence of disease or any disease above background or endemic

levels. “ Residential health care facility ” means a residential health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, as a condition of licensure,

the department shall require facilities to develop an outbreak response plan within

180 days after the effective date of this act 1 , which plan shall be customized to the facility, based upon national standards and

developed in consultation with the facility's infection prevention and control committee. At a minimum, each facility's plan shall include, but shall not be limited to: (1) a protocol for isolating and cohorting infected and at-risk residents in the event

of an outbreak of a contagious disease until the cessation of the outbreak; (2) clear policies for the notification of residents, residents' families, visitors,

and staff in the event of an outbreak of a contagious disease at a facility; (3) information on the availability of laboratory testing, protocols for assessing

whether facility visitors are ill, protocols to require ill staff to not present at

the facility for work duties, and processes for implementing evidence-based outbreak

response measures; (4) policies to conduct routine monitoring of residents and staff to quickly identify

signs of a communicable disease that could develop into an outbreak; (5) policies for reporting outbreaks to public health officials in accordance with

applicable laws and regulations; and (6) a documented strategy for securing more staff in the event of an outbreak of infectious

disease among staff or another emergent or non-emergent situation affecting staffing

levels at the facility during an outbreak of an infectious disease. c. (1) In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection b. of this section,

the department shall require a facility to include in the facility's outbreak response

plan written policies to meet staffing, training, and facility demands during an infectious

disease outbreak to successfully implement the outbreak response plan, including employing

an individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of subsection e. of this

section. (2) Each facility that has not previously submitted an outbreak response plan to the

department shall submit an outbreak response plan to the department for verification

as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. (3) The department shall verify that the outbreak response plans submitted by facilities

are in compliance with the requirements of subsection b. of this section and with

the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection. (4) The department shall have the authority to require any facility to revise its

outbreak response plan as needed to come into compliance with the requirements of

subsection b. of this section and the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection. The department may assess civil penalties or take other administrative actions against

a facility in the event the department determines the facility is not in compliance

with the requirements of this section. d. (1) Each facility shall review and, if necessary, update its outbreak response

plan on an annual basis. (2) If a facility makes any material changes to its outbreak response plan, the facility

shall, within 30 days after completing the material change, submit to the department

an updated outbreak response plan. The department shall, upon receiving an updated outbreak response plan, verify that

the plan is compliant with the requirements of subsections b. and c. of this section. e. (1) The department shall require each facility to establish an infection prevention

and control committee and assign to the facility's infection prevention and control

committee an individual designated as the infection preventionist who is a licensed

health care provider and who possesses five years of experience in infection control,

or an individual who has successfully completed an online infection prevention course

through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the American Health

Care Association course with a valid certificate therefrom. (2) The infection prevention and control committee shall meet on at least a quarterly

basis. The infection preventionist assigned to the committee pursuant to this subsection

shall attend all of the meetings held by the infection prevention and control committee. f. (1) An infection preventionist assigned to a facility's infection prevention and

control committee pursuant to subsection e. of this section shall be a managerial

employee and: (a) in the case of a facility with multiple locations, the facility shall be permitted

to employ one full-time infection preventionist who shall be responsible for up to

five locations; and (b) in the case of a facility located in the same building or on the same property

as a nursing home or a facility that is located within a continuing care retirement

community, the facility shall be permitted to hire one full-time infection control

preventionist who will be responsible for the facility and the nursing home or for

the facility and the continuing care retirement community. (2) The infection preventionist shall report directly to the administrator of the

facility and shall provide the administrator quarterly reports detailing the effectiveness

of the facility's infection prevention policies. (3) The infection preventionist shall be responsible for: (a) contributing to the development of policies, procedures, and a training curriculum

for facility staff based on best practices and clinical expertise; (b) monitoring the implementation of infection prevention and control policies and

recommending disciplinary measures for staff who routinely violate those policies; (c) assessing the facility's infection prevention and control program by conducting

internal quality improvement audits; (d) directly training all employees in infection prevention at such intervals as determined

by the department. (4) A facility that is unable to hire an infection preventionist on a full-time or

part-time basis may contract with an infection preventionist on a consultative basis

until February 1, 2022. A facility shall provide notice to the Department of Health, within 60 days after

the effective date of P.L.2021, c. 190 ( C.26:2H-87.3 et al.), if the facility is unable to hire an infection preventionist on a full-time

or part-time basis and if the facility has contracted with an infection preventionist

on a consultative basis. A facility shall hire an infection preventionist on a full-time or part-time basis

after February 1, 2022, except that the Department of Health may waive this requirement

if a facility is unable to hire an infection preventionist following the facility's

good faith efforts to hire an infection preventionist. g. Each facility shall publish the facility's outbreak response plan on its Internet

website if the facility maintains an Internet website, distribute copies of the plan

to residents and their families upon admission to the facility, and provide notice

to residents and their families any time the facility makes material changes to its

plan. Each facility shall make its outbreak response plan available upon request if the

facility does not maintain an Internet website. h. Each facility shall annually perform preparedness drills to evaluate the effectiveness

of its outbreak response plan. i. Each facility shall designate employees who receive special training in infection

control and who shall be representative of the facility's staff, including certified

nurse aides, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses. Such employees shall assist training staff, distribute infection control information,

assist with infection control implementation and policy development, and participate

in quarterly infection control training exercises to maintain competency in using

personal protection equipment. 1

L.2021, c. 190, eff. Aug. 5, 2021.