P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 357
(a) Every private or public establishment for the elderly operating in Puerto Rico when this act takes effect shall receive a provisional license authorizing it to continue rendering services for a period not to exceed six (6) months after its issuance; to give them the opportunity to comply with the standards and guidelines fixed herein and the regulations promulgated hereunder.
(b) The Department shall issue a license to every establishment for the care of the elderly which applies for one and complies with the standards and guidelines that shall be established in the regulations promulgated hereunder.
(c) Licenses shall be issued for a period not greater than two (2) years, at the completion of which they may be renewed if the establishment continues to meet the requirements established by this chapter and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Licenses currently in effect shall expire upon the end of the term for which they were issued. In the event they were renewed, these shall be issued for a term of two (2) years. On the date the license is to be renewed, the owners, person(s) in charge, administrators, operators, directors, and supervisors of the establishment, as well as the staff working therein or rendering services thereto shall present evidence of having obtained an Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate, except for health professionals and social workers with license in effect, as established by the law and the updated register, provided that they submit evidence of having taken continuing education courses in the area of gerontology. In the case of a corporation, at least one (1) of the owners shall submit evidence of the aforementioned Certificate. The basic competency areas of the certificate shall include, without being limited to the following:
(1) Value aging as a normal process within the life cycle and render services to the elderly free from prejudice and negative stereotypes.
(2) Have relevant knowledge in care and attention that guarantee the rendering of adequate services to elderly persons.
(3) Recognize the role as provider in elderly care and attention services. Apply the core concepts acquired in elderly care to the identification and solution of problems and situations that limit the optimal functionality of the elderly persons in the physical, social and psychological areas.
(4) Develop the necessary knowledge and skills to identify the needs and the solving of problems and situations that limit the quality of life of the elderly.
(5) Assess the development of an intervention plan at individual and group level for the rendering of services to the elderly.
The Department of the Family shall have the responsibility of ascertaining while conducting the inspection that it is obliged to perform in such establishments, that the staff working in each establishment holds an Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate.
The Department of the Family, specifically the Licensing Office, shall take into account when granting and renewing a license, that the staff at the establishments who take the course(s) or seminar(s) to be offered to attain the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate comply with the following regulations:
(1) The course(s) or seminar(s) taken are administered for a minimum of thirty (30) contact hours for each level of complexity and that the level of complexity of the course taken by the staff corresponds to their level of education.
(2) The certificate shall be granted by institutions accredited by the Council on Higher Education or by the General Education Council or by an institution duly registered therefor in the Department of State, authorized as such by the Office of Regulation and Certification of Health Professionals attached to the Health Department, with the pertinent provider number in effect, that have curricula specialized in areas relative to elderly care.
(3) The staff rendering direct services and the full or part-time employees working in said establishments, and those rendering professional services shall take courses or seminars for a minimum of thirty (30) contact hours for each level of education. In the case of staff whose services are circumscribed to being a messenger, or to maintenance, kitchen, laundry or driving, shall take a minimum of ten (10) contact hours of courses and seminars so that they may receive the certificate that contemplates the three (3) levels of education of the staff working at the establishments, to wit: Basic Level (for persons who have completed high school or less); Intermediate Level (for persons with a college education, including an associate or a bachelor’s degree); and Advanced (for persons with a master’s or doctoral degree).
A term of twelve (12) months is established as of the date of approval of this act and incorporation of these amendments to Act No. 94 of June 22, 1977, as amended, for the Department of the Family, specifically the Licensing Office, to require that the owner(s), administrator(s), director(s), operator(s) and/or supervisor(s) of the establishment present the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate as a requirement to obtain or renew the license to operate the same.
A term of twenty-four (24) months is hereby established as of the date of approval of this act and incorporation of these amendments to this chapter, for the Department of the Family, specifically the Licensing Office, to require that all employees working regularly in the establishments present the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate as a requirement to obtain or renew the license to operate the same.
The owner(s), director(s), administrator(s), operator(s) or supervisor(s) of the establishment shall have a term of six (6) months as of the date of the contracting of the staff to require that they present their Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate as a requirement to remain on the job.
All personnel who [are members] of a professional college and working or to be contracted to work in the establishments, is hereby exempted from the certificate requirement, provided they are able to present evidence that their membership is in effect. Two (2) years after the [issuance] of the Certificate, all the personnel working in the establishments shall be required to take continuing education courses or service training. The service training or continuing education course shall be taken at least six (6) contact hours every year and the same shall not be repeated for two (2) years. To such effect, every establishment, whether public or private, shall keep a record in which the courses or seminars leading to obtain the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate for each employee who has been taking the same, as well as any continuing education or service training course or seminars taken each year. These courses shall only be offered by institutions that have been certified by the Department of the Family.
In the event that the administrator and/or the staff changes during the two (2) years of effectiveness of the license, the owner of the establishment shall require the new employee recruited or contracted that he or she submits evidence of having taken a course or seminar. Furthermore, in the case of a change of owner, it shall be the duty of the new owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter and submit evidence of having obtained a new Certificate in his/her name.
The Department of the Family, specifically with the Licensing Office, shall create and keep an updated register of the institutions that offer the annual courses or seminars for the attaining of the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate. All providers that meet the requirements set forth in this chapter shall be included in the Register.
All institutions offering courses or seminars leading to the attaining of the Elderly Care Competency Development Training Certificate or continuing education courses or seminars on the subject to which we refer, shall submit their application together with the payment of four hundred dollars ($400) at the time of introducing their curriculum for the evaluation and certification by the Department of the Family by means of an internal revenue stamp, and said funds shall be deposited in a special account in the name of the Department of the Family, and the same shall be used by the Licensing Office in matters related to the licenses of the elderly care programs.
The Office of the Advocate for the Elderly, in coordination with the Department of the Family, shall be responsible for orienting on the importance of having the staff of the establishments trained and qualified and shall offer training or orientation on the implementation of this chapter to operators, owners, and administrators, as well as the developing and making public an orientation campaign on the provisions of this chapter during the first year of effectiveness of this act.
(d) When applying for a license to be issued or renewed, the person(s) in charge of the establishment, as well the personnel who works or renders services there by directly attending to the elderly, shall provide evidence of having taken and passed a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (C.P.R.) course, and must furthermore present evidence of having taken and passed a first aid course through which they have been qualified to handle cuts, fractures, choking, burns and allergies among other health conditions.
For the purposes of this subsection the “person in charge of the establishment” means the person(s) charged with the administration of the establishment for the elderly, regardless of whether they are natural or juridical persons or both. In case the owner of the establishment, be it a natural or juridical person or both, works at the establishment and directly attends to the elderly and does not administer the establishment, he/she must comply with the requirement of having taken and passed a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (C.P.R.) course as well as a first aid course referred to in the preceding paragraph. In case the owner of the establishment administers the establishment, even though he/she does not directly attend to the elderly, he/she must comply with the requirement of having taken and passed a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (C.P.R.) course as well as a first aid course, respectively.
In case the owner of the establishment does not work at the establishment and delegates the administration of the establishment to a third party, it shall be enough for him/her to present evidence as to the fact that the person(s) designated for the administration of the establishment, as well as the personnel who works or renders services there by directly attending to the elderly, have taken and passed a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (C.P.R.) course as well as a first aid course, referred to in the first paragraph of this subsection.
Every time the license is renewed evidence must be presented as to the fact that the C.P.R. certification of every employee, person contracted to render services directly to the elderly, or every administrator is currently in effect.
Both the owner as well as the administrator of the establishment, in case they are not the same person, are bound to ensure and make possible that they themselves as well as their personnel are certified after passing the C.P.R. course and that they maintain their certification current while working at the establishment for the elderly. The owner of the establishment is bound to ensure that the personnel who works or renders services at the establishment for the elderly is obviously duly and currently certified to administer C.P.R. and first aid.
In case the administrator and/or the personnel changes within the course of the two (2) year term of effectiveness of the license, the owner of the establishment shall require that the new employee recruited or contracted provide evidence of having taken and passed both the C.P.R. and the first aid courses. The owner of the establishment shall be bound to immediately notify the Department of the Family regarding the evidence submitted by the new employee regarding the C.P.R. and the first aid courses on or before the ten (10) subsequent days after the date the new employee has been recruited or contracted.
The certifications of every employee or person contracted to render direct services to the elderly at the establishment, including that of the administrator, that indicate that they have taken and passed the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (C.P.R.) course pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph of this subsection, shall all be displayed together in a visible area in the establishment. Violation of this provision shall be sanctioned according to the provisions of § 363 of this title.
For the purposes of this subsection, a first aid kit must be available at the establishment which must contain a splint, square compresses for setting fractures, alcohol, gauze pads, band aids, disposable masks, thermometer, and an oxygen tank with humidifier, among other first aid equipment and supplies.
(e) The Department shall proceed to cancel, suspend or deny a license in any case if the holder thereof, after having been notified of the deficiencies found, does not undertake to correct them within the term determined by the Secretary, which shall not exceed six (6) months.
(f) The Department shall maintain an up-to-date register of the establishments to which a license has been issued to operate as such, and which contains the site where each establishment is located, the complete name of the natural or juridical person who operates it, the physical facilities and services it offers its residents, the maximum number of residents it can admit, the monthly lodging fees and any other data that the Secretary of the Family deems necessary and convenient to guide the public that shall use those services. The register shall be available for examination by any person seeking information about establishments that are duly licensed in accordance with this chapter.
(g) Any natural or juridical person who operates an establishment as it is defined by this chapter shall submit to the Department, along with the application for the license, the establishment’s regulation which shall include, without limitation, the rules and norms for requesting the admission of the elderly thereto, the admission requirements, the reasons for denying the services offered by the establishment, the norms for denying lodging to the elderly, visiting days and hours, the handling of their mail and any other norms provided by the Secretary of the Family through regulations to guarantee the rights of the elderly as established by §§ 341–347 of this title. Every subsequent amendment or modification to said regulations must be submitted to the Department no later than thirty (30) days following the date it is adopted.
History —June 22, 1977, No. 94, p. 209, § 7; July 11, 1988, No. 70, p. 315, § 4; Sept. 2, 2000, No. 331, § 4; Dec. 28, 2001, No. 190, § 1; Apr. 17, 2003, No. 112, § 1; May 21, 2004, No. 117, § 1; Aug. 12, 2004, No. 210, § 1; Aug. 4, 2008, No. 157, § 1.