Other Licensing Requirements

(A) As a prerequisite for a license: (1) Level I, II and III facilities must obtain a certificate of inspection of the egresses, the means of preventing the spread of fire, and the apparatus for extinguishing fire, issued by the Department. (2) Level IV facilities must obtain a certificate of inspection of the egresses, the means of preventing the spread of fire, and the apparatus for extinguishing fire, issued by an inspector of the Office of Public Safety and Inspections. (3) All long-term care facilities must obtain a certificate of inspection, issued by the head of the local fire department, certifying compliance with local ordinances. (B) No original license shall be issued for a Level I, II or III facility unless the applicant submits a certificate of inspection that each building to be occupied by residents of such facility meets the construction standards of the state building code, and is of at least type 1-B fireproof construction; provided however that this provision shall not apply in the instance of a change of ownership of a facility whose license had not been revoked as of the time of such change of ownership. (C) Level IV facilities must apply for licensure designation as a Community Support Facility (CSF) if at the time of the effective date of 105 CMR 153.000, at least 50% of the residents in the facility are Community Support Residents as defined in 105 CMR 150.001: Definitions. Only those Level IV facilities which have at least 50% Community Support Residents shall be eligible for licensure as a CSF. The application for a license as a CSF shall have the effect of a license until such time as the Department takes action on the application. 153.07: continued (D) Resident care facilities and multi-level facilities with Level IV units with Community Support Residents having fewer than 50% of their total residents as Community Support Residents as defined in 105 CMR 153.000 prior to the effective date of this CSF licensure designation, shall be permitted to retain such residents, provided that these facilities meet staff and service requirements for CSFs adjusted to the facilities' number of Community Support Residents and their needs as set forth in 105 CMR 153.000. (E) No facility shall admit any additional Community Support Residents after July 1, 1987 with the exception of those facilities receiving licensure as a CSF under 105 CMR 153.007(C) except in the following circumstances: (1) facilities granted a waiver pursuant to 105 CMR 153.031(B); and (2) facilities seeking to readmit a resident who may need CSF services for stabilization following a period of hospitalization for an acute episode of mental illness. (F) Opportunity for Public Comment. (1) Public Notice. The applicant must publish notice of its intent to establish a long-term care facility. The public notice, which must be submitted to the Department for approval prior to publication, shall accurately describe the proposed facility and meet the following requirements: (a) Publication must be within 21 days following the date on which the applicant received written notice from the Department that its application was substantially complete. (b) The notice must contain the name and address of the proposed long-term care facility; name and address of the proposed licensee, if different; and name and address of the owner or owners. In addition, the written notice must contain the following statements: "A public hearing may be requested upon petition by any group of ten adults. Such petition shall include the name, address and signature of each adult. Written comments concerning the proposed facility and petitions for a public hearing may be addressed to the offices of the Department of Public Health, Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification for a period of 14 days following this publication." The notice shall include both physical and electronic mail addresses provided by the Department for the submission of comments. (c) If the notice as published does not contain all of the information listed in 105 CMR 153.007(G)(1)(b), the Department may require republication of the notice within a reasonable period of time. (d) The notice shall appear in the Legal Notice section and shall be captioned as appropriate, such as “Public Announcement Concerning (name of health care facility).” An identical notice shall also be published at least once in some other section of the same newspaper. (e) Such notice shall appear in a daily newspaper published in the city or town of, or nearest to, the location of the facility and be prominently displayed on the facility’s website, if available. (f) Within three days of publication of the notice required by 105 CMR 153.007(G)(1), the applicant shall provide a letter, approved in advance by the Department, to the following: 1. The Office of the State Long-term Care Ombudsman; 2. The Office of the Local Long-term Care Ombudsman; 3. The members of the General Court who represent the city or town in which the facility will be located; and 4. A representative of the local officials of the city or town in which the facility will be located. (g) The licensee must provide a copy of the notices to the Department within seven days of publication of the notice and of provision to those parties listed at 105 CMR 153.007(G)(1)(f). (2) Hearings. (a) Any ten adults may form a group with a designated representative. The group's representative may request a hearing through submission of a petition to the Department within 14 days of the date that the public notice appeared in the newspaper. The petition shall include the name, address and signature of each group member. The representative will receive all correspondence regarding the hearing. 153.07: continued (b) The Department shall notify the applicant in writing that a hearing is scheduled under 105 CMR 153.007. (c) A hearing will be held by a Departmental representative within three weeks of receipt of a petition for hearing. (d) The Department shall take any written comments and comments presented at the hearing into consideration. (3) No hearing shall be required pursuant to 105 CMR 153.007 for a licensure application that is the result of a transfer of ownership for which a hearing was conducted pursuant to 105 CMR 153.022 or for an application for a license renewal.