3210. LICENSED NURSING COVERAGE

3210 LICENSED NURSING COVERAGE 3210.1 Each facility shall employ a charge nurse on each unit twenty-four (24) hours a day. 3210.2 Each charge nurse shall be a licensed registered nurse or licensed practical nurse in the District with experience in geriatric, rehabilitation, psychiatric, or other appropriate nursing discipline. 3210.3 When a licensed practical nurse serves as a charge nurse, he or she shall have ready access to consultation with a registered nurse. 3210.4 A charge nurse shall be responsible for the following: (a) Making daily resident visits to assess physical and emotional status and implementing any required nursing intervention; (b) Reviewing medication records for completeness, accuracy in the transcription of physician orders, and adherence to stop-order policies; (c) Reviewing residents' plans of care for appropriate goals and approaches, and revising them as needed; (d) Delegating responsibility to the nursing staff for direct resident nursing care of specific residents; (e) Supervising and evaluating each nursing employee on the unit; and (f) Keeping the Director of Nursing Services or his or her designee informed about the status of residents. SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 49 DCR 473 (January 18, 2002).