63.2-1709 - Enforcement and sanctions; assisted living facilities and adult day care centers; interim administration; receivership, revocation, denial, summary suspension.
§ 63.2-1709. Enforcement and sanctions; assisted living facilities and adultday care centers; interim administration; receivership, revocation, denial,summary suspension.
A. Upon receipt and verification by the Commissioner of information from anysource indicating an imminent and substantial risk of harm to residents, theCommissioner may require an assisted living facility to contract with anindividual licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators, to beeither selected from a list created and maintained by the Department ofMedical Assistance Services or selected from a pool of appropriately licensedadministrators recommended by the owner of the assisted living facility, toadminister, manage, or operate the assisted living facility on an interimbasis, and to attempt to bring the facility into compliance with all relevantrequirements of law, regulation, or any plan of correction approved by theCommissioner. Such contract shall require the interim administrator to complywith any and all requirements established by the Department to ensure thehealth, safety, and welfare of the residents. Prior to or upon conclusion ofthe period of interim administration, management, or operation, an inspectionshall be conducted to determine whether operation of the assisted livingfacility shall be permitted to continue or should cease. Such interimadministration, management, or operation shall not be permitted when defectsin the conditions of the premises of the assisted living facility (i) presentimminent and substantial risks to the health, safety, and welfare ofresidents, and (ii) may not be corrected within a reasonable period of time.Any decision by the Commissioner to require the employment of a person toadminister, manage, or operate an assisted living facility shall be subjectto the rights of judicial review and appeal as provided in the AdministrativeProcess Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). Actual and reasonable costs of such interimadministration shall be the responsibility of and shall be borne by the ownerof the assisted living facility.
B. The Board shall adopt regulations for the Commissioner to use indetermining when the imposition of administrative sanctions or initiation ofcourt proceedings, severally or jointly, is appropriate in order to ensureprompt correction of violations in assisted living facilities and adult daycare centers involving noncompliance with state law or regulation asdiscovered through any inspection or investigation conducted by theDepartments of Social Services, Health, or Behavioral Health andDevelopmental Services. The Commissioner may impose such sanctions or takesuch actions as are appropriate for violation of any of the provisions ofthis subtitle or any regulation adopted under any provision of this subtitlethat adversely affects the health, safety or welfare of an assisted livingfacility resident or an adult day care participant. Such sanctions or actionsmay include (i) petitioning the court to appoint a receiver for any assistedliving facility or adult day care center and (ii) revoking or denying renewalof the license for the assisted living facility or adult day care center forviolation of any of the provisions of this subtitle, § 54.1-3408 or anyregulation adopted under this subtitle that violation adversely affects, oris an imminent and substantial threat to, the health, safety or welfare ofthe person cared for therein, or for permitting, aiding or abetting thecommission of any illegal act in an assisted living facility or adult daycare center.
C. The Commissioner may issue a summary order of suspension of the license tooperate the assisted living facility pursuant to the procedures hereinafterset forth in conjunction with any proceeding for revocation, denial, or otheraction when conditions or practices exist that pose an imminent andsubstantial threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents.Before a summary order of suspension shall take effect, the Commissionershall issue to the assisted living facility a notice of summary order ofsuspension setting forth (i) the procedures for the summary order ofsuspension, (ii) hearing and appeal rights as provided under this subsection,and (iii) facts and evidence that formed the basis for which the summaryorder of suspension is sought. Such notice shall be served on the assistedliving facility or its designee as soon as practicable thereafter by personalservice or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address of recordof the assisted living facility. The order shall state the time, date, andlocation of a hearing to determine whether the suspension is appropriate.Such hearing shall be presided over by a hearing officer selected by theCommissioner from a list prepared by the Executive Secretary of the SupremeCourt of Virginia and shall be held as soon as practicable, but in no eventlater than 15 business days following service of the notice of hearing;however, the hearing officer may grant a written request for a continuance,not to exceed an additional 10 business days, for good cause shown. Aftersuch hearing, the hearing officer shall provide to the Commissioner writtenfindings and conclusions, together with a recommendation whether the licenseshould be summarily suspended, whereupon the Commissioner shall adopt thehearing officer's recommended decision unless to do so would be an error oflaw or Department policy. Any final agency case decision in which theCommissioner rejects a hearing officer's recommended decision shall statewith particularity the basis for rejection. The Commissioner shall issue: (a)a final order of summary suspension or (b) an order that summary suspensionis not warranted by the facts and circumstances presented. A final order ofsummary suspension shall include notice that the assisted living facility mayappeal the Commissioner's decision to the appropriate circuit court no laterthan 10 days following service of the order. A copy of any final order ofsummary suspension shall be prominently displayed by the provider at eachpublic entrance of the facility, or in lieu thereof, the provider may displaya written statement summarizing the terms of the order in a prominentlocation, printed in a clear and legible size and typeface, and identifyingthe location within the facility where the final order of summary suspensionmay be reviewed.
Upon appeal, the sole issue before the court shall be whether the Departmenthad reasonable grounds to require the assisted living facility to ceaseoperations during the pendency of the concurrent revocation, denial, or otherproceeding. Any concurrent revocation, denial, or other proceeding shall notbe affected by the outcome of any hearing on the appropriateness of thesummary order of suspension. Failure to comply with the summary order ofsuspension shall constitute an offense under subdivision 1 of § 63.2-1712.All agencies and subdivisions of the Commonwealth shall cooperate with theCommissioner in the relocation of residents of an assisted living facilitywhose license has been summarily suspended pursuant to this section and inany other actions necessary to reduce the risk of further harm to residents.
D. Notice of the Commissioner's intent to revoke or deny renewal of thelicense for the assisted living facility shall be provided by the Departmentand a copy of such notice shall be posted in a prominent place at each publicentrance of the licensed premises to advise consumers of serious orpersistent violations. In determining whether to deny, revoke, or summarilysuspend a license, the Commissioner may choose to deny, revoke, or summarilysuspend only certain authority of the assisted living facility to operate,and may restrict or modify the assisted living facility's authority toprovide certain services or perform certain functions that the Commissionerdetermines should be restricted or modified in order to protect the health,safety, or welfare of the residents. Such denial, revocation, or summarysuspension of certain services or functions may be appealed as otherwiseprovided in this subtitle for any denial, revocation, or summary suspension.
(Code 1950, § 63-249; 1968, c. 578, § 63.1-212; 1991, c. 532, § 63.1-179.1;1992, c. 356, § 63.1-194.9; 1993, cc. 730, 742, 957, 993, § 63.1-211.3; 1998,cc. 115, 397, 850; 2002, c. 747; 2005, cc. 610, 924; 2009, cc. 813, 840.)