This is a list of terms and definitions used on the division's website. Most of these words come directly from the N.C. General Statutes. Links are given to the N.C. Statutes defining specific words when needed. Other terms come from documents or are descriptions written by a section within the division.

A
Abuse Abuse means the willful or grossly negligent infliction of physical pain, injury or mental anguish, unreasonable confinement, or the willful or grossly negligent deprivation by the administrator or staff of an adult care home of services which are necessary to maintain mental and physical health. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)
Acute Care Committee Acute care committee is one of three standing committees of the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council. This committee has lead responsibilities for general acute care hospital beds, inpatient rehabilitation services, ambulatory surgical facilities, and technology.
Administrator

Administrator means a person approved by the Department of Health and Human Services who has the responsibility for the total operation of a licensed domiciliary home. (G.S. 131D-2.1)

Administrator means an administrator of a facility. (G.S. 131E-116)

Adult Care Home

Adult care home is an assisted living residence in which the housing management provides 24-hour scheduled and unscheduled personal care services to two or more residents, either directly or, for scheduled needs, through formal written agreement with licensed home care or hospice agencies. Some licensed adult care homes provide supervision to persons with cognitive impairments whose decisions, if made independently, may jeopardize the safety or well-being of themselves or others and therefore require supervision. Medication in an adult care home may be administered by designated, trained staff. Adult care homes that provide care to two to six unrelated residents are commonly called family care homes. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)

Adult care home as distinguished from a nursing home, means a facility operated as a part of a nursing home and which provides residential care for aged or disabled persons whose principal need is a home with the shelter or personal care their age or disability requires. Medical care in an adult care home is usually occasional or incidental, such as may be required in the home of any individual or family, but the administration of medication is supervised. Continuing planned medical and nursing care to meet the resident's needs may be provided under the direct supervision of a physician, nurse or home health agency. Adult care homes are to be distinguished from nursing homes subject to licensure under this part. (G.S. 131E-101)

Adult care home means a facility with seven or more beds licensed under Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes or G.S. Chapter 131E that provides residential care for aged or disabled persons whose principal need is a home which provides the supervision and personal care appropriate to their age and disability and for whom medical care is only occasional or incidental. (G.S. 131E-176)

Adult Day Care Program Adult day care program means the provision of group care and supervision in a place other than their usual place of abode on a less than 24-hour basis to adults who may be physically or mentally disabled. The Department of Health and Human Services shall annually inspect and certify all adult day care programs, under rules adopted by the Social Services Commission. The Social Services Commission shall adopt rules to protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons in adult day care programs. These rules shall include minimum standards relating to management of the program, staffing requirements, building requirements, fire safety, sanitation, nutrition, and program activities. Adult day care programs are not required to provide transportation to participants; however, those programs that choose to provide transportation shall comply with rules adopted by the Commission for the health and safety of participants during transport. (G.S. 131D-6)
Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ambulatory surgical facility means a facility designed for the provision of a specialty ambulatory surgical program or a multispecialty ambulatory surgical program. An ambulatory surgical facility serves patients who require local, regional or general anesthesia and a period of post-operative observation. An ambulatory surgical facility may only admit patients for a period of less than 24 hours and must provide at least one designated operating room or at least one gastrointestinal endoscopy room and at least one designated recovery room, have available the necessary equipment and trained personnel to handle emergencies, provide adequate quality assurance and assessment by an evaluation and review committee, and maintain adequate medical records for each patient. An ambulatory surgical facility may be operated as a part of a physician or dentist's office, provided the facility is licensed under G.S. Chapter 131E, Article 6, Part 4, but the performance of incidental, limited ambulatory surgical procedures which do not constitute an ambulatory surgical program and which are performed in a physician or dentist's office does not make that office an ambulatory surgical facility. (G.S. 131E-146, G.S. 131E-176)
Ambulatory Surgical Program Ambulatory surgical program means a formal program for providing on a same-day basis those surgical procedures which require local, regional or general anesthesia and a period of post-operative observation to patients whose admission for more than 24 hours is determined, prior to surgery or gastrointestinal endoscopy, to be medically unnecessary. (G.S. 131E-146, G.S. 131E-176)
Amenities Amenities means services such as meals, housekeeping, transportation, and grocery shopping that do not involve hands-on personal care. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
Assisted Living Residence

Assisted living residence means any group housing and services program for two or more unrelated adults, by whatever name it is called, that makes available, at a minimum, one meal a day and housekeeping services and provides personal care services directly or through a formal written agreement with one or more licensed home care or hospice agencies. The department may allow nursing service exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Settings in which services are delivered may include self-contained apartment units or single or shared room units with private or area baths. Assisted living residences are to be distinguished from nursing homes subject to provisions of G.S. 131E-102. Effective October 1, 2005, there are two types of assisted living residences: adult care homes and adult care homes that serve only elderly persons. Elderly person means:

  1. Any person who has attained the age of 55 years or older and requires assistance with activities of daily living, housing, and services, or
  2. Any adult who has a primary diagnonsis of Alzheimer's disease or other form of dementia who requires assistance with activities of daily living, housing, and services provided by a licensed Alzheimer's and dementia care unit.

Effective July 1, 1996, there is a third type, multiunit assisted housing with services. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)

B
Bed Capacity Bed capacity means space used exclusively for inpatient care, including space designed or remodeled for licensed inpatient beds even though temporarily not used for such purposes. The number of beds to be counted in any patient room shall be the maximum number for which adequate square footage is provided as established by rules of the department except that single beds in single rooms are counted even if the room contains inadequate square footage. The term bed capacity also refers to the number of dialysis stations in kidney disease treatment centers, including freestanding dialysis units. (G.S. 131E-176)
Bonds Bonds means the revenue bonds authorized to be issued by the commission under G.S. 131A. (G.S. 131A-3)
C
Cardiac Catheterization Services Cardiac catheterization services means those procedures, excluding pulmonary angiography procedures, in which a catheter is introduced into a vein or artery and threaded through the circulatory system into the heart specifically to diagnose abnormalities in the motion, contraction, and blood flow of the moving heart or to perform surgical therapeutic interventions to restore, repair, or reconstruct the coronary blood vessels of the heart. (G.S. 131E-176)
Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Cardiac rehabilitation program means a program certified under Article 8 of Chapter 131E for the delivery of cardiac rehabilitation services to outpatients and includes, but shall not be limited to, coordinated, physician-directed, individualized programs of therapeutic activity and adaption designed to assist the cardiac patient in attaining the highest rehabilitative potential. (G.S. 131E-166)
Certificate of Need Certificate of need means a writen order which affords the person so designated as the legal proponent of the proposed project the opportunity to proceed with the development of such project. (G.S. 131E-176)
Change in Bed Capacity

Change in bed capacity means

  1. any relocation of health service facility beds, or dialysis stations from one licensed facility or campus to another, or
  2. any redistribution of health service facility bed capacity among the categories of health service facility bed as defined in G.S. 131E-176(9c), or
  3. any increase in the number of health service facility beds, or dialysis stations in kidney disease treatment centers, including freestanding dialysis units. (G.S. 131E-176)
Chemical Dependency Treatment Facility

Chemical dependency treatment facility means a public or private facility, or unit in a facility, which is engaged in providing 24-hour a day treatment for chemical dependency or substance abuse. This treatment may include detoxification, administration of a therapeutic regimen for the treatment of chemically dependent or substance abusing persons and related services. The facility or unit may be:

  1. A unit within a general hospital or an attached or freestanding unit of a general hospital licensed under Article 5, Chapter 131E, of the General Statutes,
  2. A unit within a psychiatric hospital or an attached or freestanding unit of a psychiatric hospital licensed under Article 1A of General Statutes Chapter 122 or Article 2 of General Statutes Chapter 122C,
  3. A freestanding facility specializing in treatment of persons who are substance abusers or chemically dependent licensed under Article 1A of General Statutes Chapter 122 or Article 2 of General Statutes Chapter 122C; and may be identified as chemical dependency, substance abuse, alcoholism, or drug abuse treatment units, residential chemical dependency, substance abuse, alcoholism or drug abuse facilities, or by other names if the purpose is to provide treatment of chemically dependent or substance abusing persons, but shall not include social setting detoxification facilities, medical detoxification facilities, halfway houses or recovery farms. (G.S. 131E-176)
Chemical Dependency Treatment Beds Chemical dependency treatment beds means beds that are licensed for the inpatient treatment of chemical dependency. Residential treatment beds for the treatment of chemical dependency or substance abuse are chemical dependency treatment beds. Chemical dependency treatment beds shall not include beds licensed for detoxification. (G.S. 131E-176)
Combination Home Combination home means a nursing home offering one or more levels of care, including any combination of skilled nursing, intermediate care, and adult care home. (G.S. 131E-101)
Commission

Commission means the North Carolina Medical Care Commission. (G.S. 131E-76, G.S. 131E-101, G.S. 131E-116, G.S. 131E-136, G.S. 131E-146, G.S. 131E-154.2, G.S. 131E-155, G.S. 131E-201)

Commission means the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, created by Part 10 of Article 3 of chapter 143B of the General Statutes, or, should said commission be abolished or otherwise divested of its functions under this chapter, the public body succeeding it in its principal functions, or upon which are conferred by law the rights, powers and duties diven by this chapter to the commission. (G.S. 131A-3)

Community Advisory Committee Community advisory committee means a nursing home advisory committee established for the statutory purpose of working to carry out the intent of the Nursing Home Patients' Bill of Rights in accordance with G.S. 143B-181.1 (G.S. 131E-101)
Compensatory Agent Compensatory agent means a spouse, relative, or other caretaker who lives with a resident and provides care to a resident. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
Continuing Care Continuing care means the furnishing, pursuant to a continuing care agreement, of shelter, food, and nursing care to an individual not related by consanguinity or affinity to the provider furnishing such care. Other personal services provided shall be designated in the continuing care agreement. Continuing care shall include only life care, care for life or care for a term of years. (G.S. 131A-3)
Critical Access Hospital Critical access hospital means a hospital which has been designated as a critical access hospital by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health and Community Care. To be designated as a critical access hospital under this subdivision, the hospital must be certified as a critical access hospital pursuant to 42 CFR Part 485 Subpart F. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health and Community Care may designate a hospital located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area as a rural hospital for the purposes of the critical access hospital program if the hospital is located in a county with twenty-five percent (25%) or more rural residents as defined by the most recent United States decennial census. (G.S. 131E-76)
D
Department Department means the Department of Health and Human Services (G.S. 131E-1, G.S. 131E-154.2, G.S. 131E-201, G.S. 131D-2.1)
Developmentally Disabled Adult Developmentally disabled adult means a person who has attained the age of 18 years and who has a developmental disability defined as a severe, chronic disability of a person which:
  1. Is attributed to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments;
  2. Is manifested before the person attains age 22;
  3. Is likely to continue indefinitely;
  4. Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
    1. self-care
    2. receptive and expressive language
    3. learning
    4. mobility
    5. self-direction
    6. capacity for independent living
    7. economic self-sufficiency;
    8. Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treatment, or other services which are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
E
Emergency Medical Dispatcher Emergency Medical Dispatcher means an emergency telecommunicator who has completed an educational program approved by the department and has been credentialed as an emergency medical dispatcher by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Services Emergency medical services means services rendered by emergency medical services personnel in responding to improve the health and wellness of the community and to address the individual's need for emergency medical care within the scope of practice as defined by the North Carolina Medical Board in accordance with G.S. 143-514 in order to prevent loss of life or further aggravation of physiological or psychological illness or injury. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Services Instructor Emergency medical services instructor means an individual who has completed educational requirements approved by the department and has been credentialed as an emergency medical services instructor by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Services Personnel Emergency medical services personnel means all the personnel as defined as emergency medical dispatcher, emergency medical services instructor, emergency medical services-nurse practitioner, emergency medical services-physician assistant, emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician-intermediate, emergency medical technician-paramedic, medical responder, and mobile intensive care nurse. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Services-Nurse Practitioner Emergency medical services-nurse practitioner means a registered nurse who is licensed to practice nursing in North Carolina and approved to perform medical acts by the North Carolina Medical Board and the North Carolina Board of Nursing. Upon successful completion of an orientation program conducted under the authority of the medical director and approved by the department, emergency medical services-nurse practitioners shall be approved by the medical director to issue instructions to EMS personnel. These instructions shall be in accordance with protocols approved by the EMS system and Office of Emergency Medical Services and under the direction of the medical director. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Services-Physician Assistant Emergency medical services-physician assistant means a physician assistant who is licensed by the North Carolina Medical Board. Upon successful completion of an orientation program conducted under the authority of the medical director and approved by the department, emergency medical services-physician assistants shall be approved by the medical director to issue instructions to EMS personnel. These instructions shall be in accordance with protocols approved by the EMS system and Office of Emergency Medical Services and under the direction of the medical director. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Technician Emergency medical technician means an individual who has completed an educational program in emergency medical care approved by the department and has been credentialed as an emergency medical technician by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate Emergency medical technician-intermediate means an individual who has completed an educational program in emergency medical care approved by the department and has been credentialed as an emergency medical technician-intermediate by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Emergency medical technician-paramedic means an individual who has compelted an educational program in emergency medical care approved by the department and has been credentialed as an emergency medical technician-paramedic by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
EMS Provider EMS provider means a firm, corporation or association which engages in or professes to provide emergency medical services. (G.S. 131E-155)
Expedited review

Expedited review means the status given to an application's review process when the applicant petitions for the review and the department approves the request based on findings that all of the following are met:

  1. The review is not competitive.
  2. The proposed capital expenditure is less than five million dollars ($5,000,000).
  3. A request for a public hearing is not received within the time frame defined in G.S. 131E-185.
  4. The agency has not determined that a public hearing is in the public interest.

(G.S. 131E-176)

Exploitation Exploitation means the illegal or improper use of an aged or disabled resident or his resources for another's profit or advantage. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)
F
Facility

Facility means a nursing home and a home for the aged or disabled licensed pursuant to G.S. 131E-102, and also means a nursing home operated by a hospital which is licensed under Article 5 of G.S. Chapter 131E. (G.S. 131E-116)

Facility means an adult care home licensed pursuant to G.S. 131D-2.4. (G.S. 131D-20)

Family Care Home Family care home means an adult care home having two to six residents. The structure of a family care home may be no more than two stories high and none of the aged or physically disabled persons being served there may be housed in the upper story without provision for two direct exterior ground-level accesses to the upper story. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)
G
Geographic Service Area Geographic Service Area means the geographic area in which a licensed agency provides home care services. (G.S. 131E-136)
Group Home for Developmentally Disabled Adults Group home for developmentally disabled adults means an adult care home which has two to nine developmentally disabled adult residents.
H
Health Care Facilities Health care facilities means any one or more buildings, structures, additions, extensions, improvements or other facilities, whether or not located on the same site or sites, machinery, equipment, furnishings or other real or personal property suitable for health care or medical care; and includes, without limitation: general hospitals, chronic diseases, maternity, mental, tuberculosis and other specialized hospitals; facilities for intensive care and self-care; nursing homes, including skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities; facilities for continuing care of the elderly and infirm; clinics and outpatient facilities; clinical, pathological and other laboratories; health care research facilities; laundries; training facilities for nurses, interns, physicians and other staff members; food preparation and food service facilities; administration buildings, central service and other administrative facilities; communication, computer; and other electronic facilities, fire-fighting facilities, pharmaceutical facilities and recreational facilities; storage space, X-ray, laser, radiotherapy and other apparatus and equipment; dispensaries; utilities; vehicular parking lots and garages; office facilities for health care facilities staff members and physicians; and such other health care facilities customarily under the jurisdiction of or provided by hospitals, or any combination of the foregoing, with all necessary, convenient or related interests in land, machinery, apparatus, appliances, equipment, furnishings, appurtenances, site preparation, landscaping and physical amenities. (G.S. 131A-3)
Health Care Facility

Health Care Facility means a hospital, psychiatric facility; rehabilitation facility; long-term care facility; home health agency; intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded; chemical dependency treatment facility; and ambulatory surgical facility. (G.S. 131E-154.2)

The following are considered to be health care facilities:

  1. Adult care homes as defined in G.S. 131D-2.1
  2. Hospitals as defined in G.S. 131E-76.
  3. Home care agencies as defined in G.S. 131E-136.
  4. Nursing pools as defined by G.S. 131E-154.2.
  5. Hospices as defined by G.S. 131E-201.
  6. Nursing facilities as defined by G.S. 131E-255.
  7. State-operated facilities as defined in G.S. 122C-3(14)f
  8. Residential facilities as defined in G.S. 122C-3(14)e
  9. 24-hour facilities as defined in G.S. 122C-3(14)g
  10. Licensable facilities as defined in G.S. 122C-3(14)b.
  11. Multiunit assisted housing with services as defined G.S. 131D-2.1.
  12. Communited-based providers of services for the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled and substance abusers that are not required to be licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes.
  13. Agencies providing in-home aide services funded through the Home and Community Care Block Grant Program in accordance with G.S. 143B-181.1(a)11. (G.S. 131E-256)
Health Care Personnel The term health care personnel means any unlicensed staff of a health care facility that has direct access to residents, clients, or their property. Direct access includes any health care facility unlicensed staff that during the cource of employment has the opportunity for direct contact with an individual or an individual's property, when that individual is a resident or person to whom services are provided. (G.S. 131E-256)
Health Care Personnel Registry A registry containing the names of unlicensed health care personnel working in adult care homes, home care agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and nursing pools who have substantiated findings or investigations pending pertaining to abuse or neglect of a resident, misappropriation of resident or facility property, fraud against a resident or a facility or diversion of drugs belonging to a resident or a facility. This registry also contains the names of nurse aides listed on the Nurse Aide I Registry with substantiated findings.
Health Service Facility Health service facility means a hospital; long-term care hospital; psychiatric facility; rehabilitation facility; nursing home facility; adult care home; kidney disease treatment center, including freestanding hemodialysis units; intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded; home health agency office; chemical dependency treatment facility; diagnostic center; hospice office, hospice inpatient facility, hospice residential care facility; and ambulatory surgical facility. (G.S. 131E-176)
Home Care Agency Home care agency means a private or public organization that provides home care services. (G.S. 131E-136)
Home Care Agency Director Home care agency director means the person having administrative responsibility for the operation of the licensed agency site. (G.S. 131E-136)
Home Care Services

Home care services means any of the following services and directly related medical supplies and appliances, which are provided to an individual in a place of temporary or permanent residence used as an individual's home:

  1. Nursing care provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse;
  2. Physical, occupational, or speech therapy, when provided to an individual who also is receiving nursing services, or any other of these therapy services, in a place of temporary or permanent residence used as the individual's home;
  3. Medical social services;
  4. In-home aide services that involve hands-on care to an individual;
  5. Infusion nursing services; and
  6. Assistance with pulmonary care, pulmonary rehabilitation or ventilation.

The term does not include; health promotion, preventative health and community health services provided by public health departments; maternal and child health services provided by public health departments, by employees of the Department of Health and Human Services under G.S. 130A-124, or by developmental evaluation centers under contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide services under G.S. 130A-124; hospitals licensed under Article 5 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes when providing follow-up care initiated to patients within six months after their discharge from the hospital; facilities and programs operated under the authority of G.S. 122C and providing services within the scope of G.S. 122C; schools, when providing services pursuant to Article 9 of Chapter 115C; the practice of midwifery by a person licensed under Article 10A of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes; hospices licensed under Article 10 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes when providing care to a hospice patient; an individual who engages solely in providing his own services to other individuals; incidental health care provided by an employee of a physician licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina in the normal course of the physician's practice; or nursing registries if the registry discloses to a client or the client's responsible party, before providing any services, that (i) it is not a licensed home care agency, and (ii) it does not make any representations or guarantees concerning the training, supervision, or competence of the personnel provided. (G.S. 131E-136)

Home Health Agency

Home health agency means a home care agency which is certified to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for providing nursing care, therapy, medical social services, and home health aide services on a part-time, intermittent basis as set out in G.S. 131E-176(12), and is thereby also subject to Article 9 of Chapter 131E. (G.S. 131E-136)

Home health agency means a private organization or public agency, whether owned or operated by one or more persons or legal entities, which furnishes or offers to furnish home health services. (G.S. 131E-176)

Home Health Services

Home health services means items and services furnished to an individual by a home health agency, or by others under arrangements with such others made by the agency, on a visiting basis, and except for paragraph e., in a place of temporary or permanent residence used as the individual's home as follows:

  1. Part-time or intermittent nursing care provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse;
  2. Physical, occupational or speech therapy;
  3. Medical social services, home health aid services, and other therapeutic services;
  4. Medical supplies, other than drugs and biologicals and the use of medical appliances;
  5. Any of the foregoing items and services which are provided on an outpatient basis under arrangements made by the home health agency at a hospital or nursing home facility or rehabilitation center and the furnishing of which involves the use of equipment of such a nature that the items and services cannot readily be made available to the individual in his home, or which are furnished at such facility while he is there to receive any such item or service, but not including transportation of the individual in connection with any such item or service. (G.S. 131E-176)
Hospice Hospice means any coordinated program of home care with provision for inpatient care for terminally ill patients and their families. This care is provided by a medically directed interdisciplinary team, directly or through an agreement under the direction of an identifiable hospice administration. A hospice program of care provides palliative and supportive medical and other health services to meet the physical, psychological, social, spiritual and special needs of patients and their families, which are experienced during the final stages of terminal illness and during dying and bereavement. (G.S. 131E-176, G.S. 131E-201)
Hospice Inpatient Facility Hospice inpatient facility means a freestanding licensed hospice facility or a designated inpatient unit in an existing health service facility which provides palliative and supportive medical and other health services to meet the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and special needs of terminally ill patients and their families in an inpatient setting. (G.S. 131E-176, G.S. 131E-201)
Hospice Residential Care Facility Hospice residential care facility means a freestanding licensed hospice facility which provides palliative and supportive medical and other health services to meet the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and special needs of terminally ill patients and their families in a group residential setting. (G.S. 131E-176, G.S. 131E-201)
Hospice Services Hospice services means the provision of palliative and supportive medical and other health services to meet the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and special needs of patients and their families, which are experienced during the final stages of terminal illness and during dying and bereavement. (G.S. 131E-201)
Hospital

Hospital means any facility which has an organized medical staff and which is designed, used, and operated to provide health care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, and continuous nursing care primarily to inpatients where such care and services are rendered under the supervision and direction of physicians licensed under Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, Article 1, to two or more persons over a period in excess of 24 hours. The term includes facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders within the scope of specific health specialties. The term does not include private mental facilities licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, nursing homes licensed under G.S. 131E-102, and adult care homes licensed under Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 131D. (G.S. 131E-76)

Hospital means a public or private institution which is primarily engaged in providing inpatients, by or under supervision of physicians, diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment, and care of injured, disabled, or sick persons, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled, or sick persons. The term includes all facilities licensed pursuant to G.S. 131E-77 of the General Statutes, except long-term care hospitals. (G.S. 131E-176)

Hospital Facility Hospital facility means any one or more buildings, structures, additions, extensions, improvements or other facilities, whether or not located on the same site or sites, machinery, equipment, furnishings or other real or personal property suitable for health care or medical care; and includes, without limitation, general hospitals; chronic disease, maternity, mental, tuberculosis and other specialized hospitals; nursing homes, including skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities; adult care homes for the aged and disabled; public health center facilities; housing or quarters for local public health departments; facilities for intensive care and self-care; clinics and outpatient facilities; clinical, pathological and other laboratories; health care research facilities; laundries; residences and training facilities for nurses, interns, physicians and other staff members; food preparation and food service facilities; administrative buildings, central service and other administrative facilities; communication, computer and other electronic facilities; fire-fighting facilities; pharmaceutical and recreational facilities; storage space; X-ray, laser, radiotherapy and other apparatus and equipment; dispensaries; utilities; vehicular parking lots and garages; office facilities for hospital staff members and physicians; and such other health and hospital facilities customarily under the jurisdiction of or provided by hospitals, or any combination of the foregoing, with all necessary, convenient or related interests in land, machinery, apparatus, appliances, equipment, furnishings, appurtenances, site preparation, landscaping, and physical amenities. (G.S. 131E-6)
Hospital Services Hospital services means services rendered only by the public hospital. Hospital services shall include professional charges of any physician or medical student, but only if the physician or student is an employee of the public hospital. (G.S. 131E-48)
I
Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded Intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded means facilities licensed pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes for the purpose of providing health and habilitative services based on the developmental model and principles of normalization for persons with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy or related conditions. (G.S. 131E-176)
J
K
Kidney Disease Treatment Center Kidney disease treatment center means a facility that is certified as an end-stage renal disease facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 405 (G.S. 131E-176)
L
Long-Term Care Committee One of three standing committees of the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council. This committee has lead responsibilities for nursing care facility beds, home health services, end-stage renal disease dialysis stations, and hospice services.
Long-Term Care Facility Long-term care facility means a nursing home as defined in G.S. 131E-101(6) and an adult care home as defined in G.S. 131D-2.1(3) or G.S. 131E-101(1). (G.S. 131E-231)
M
Medical Responder Medical responder means an individual who has completed an educational program in emergency medical care and first aid approved by the department and has been credentialed as a medical responder by the department. (G.S. 131E-155)
Medical Review Committee

Medical Review Committee means any of the following committees formed for the purpose of evaluating the quality, cost of, or necessity for hospitalization or health care, including medical staff credentialing:

  1. A committee of a state or local professional society.
  2. A committee of a medical staff of a hospital.
  3. A committee of a hospital or hospital system, if created by the governing board or medical staff of the hospital or system or operating under written procedures adopted by the governing board or medical staff of the hospital or system.
  4. A committee of a peer review corporation or organization. (G.S. 131E-76)
Mental Health Committee One of three standing committees of the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council. This committee has lead responsibilities for psychiatric inpatient services; substance abuse, detoxification, inpatient and residential services; and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.
Mobile Intensive Care Nurse Mobile intensive care nurse means a registered nurse who is licensed to practice nursing in North Carolina and is approved by the medical director, following successful completion of an orientation program conducted under the authority of the medical director and approved by the department, to issue instructions to EMS personnel. These instructions shall be in accordance with protocols approved by the EMS system and Office of Emergency Medical Services and under the direction of the medical director. (G.S. 131E-155)
Multiunit Assisted Housing with Services Effective July 1, 1996, multiunit assisted housing with services means an assisted living residence in which hands-on personal care services and nursing services which are arranged by housing management are provided by a licensed home care or hospice agency, through an individualized written care plan. The housing management has a financial interest or financial affiliation or formal written agreement which makes personal care services accessible and available through at least one licensed home care or hospice agency. The resident has a choice of any provider, and the housing management may not combine charges for housing and personal care services. All residents, or their compensatory agents, must be capable, through informed consent, of entering into a contract and must not be in need of 24-hour supervision. Assistance with self-administration of medications may be provided by appropriately trained staff when delegated by a licensed nurse according to the home care agency's established plan of care. Multiunit assisted housing with services programs are required to register with the Division of Health Service Regulation and to provide a disclosure statement. The disclosure statement is required to be a part of the annual rental contract that includes a description of the following requirements:
  1. Emergency response system;
  2. Charges for services offered;
  3. Limitations of tenancy;
  4. Limitations of services;
  5. Resident responsibilities;
  6. Financial/legal relationship between housing management and home care or hospice agencies;
  7. A listing of all home care or hospice agencies and other community services in the area;
  8. An appeals process; and
  9. Procedures for required initial and annual resident screening and referrals for services.
Continuing care retirement communities, subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance under Chapter 58 of the General Statutes, are exempt from the regulatory requirements for multiunit assisted housing with services programs. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
N
Need Determinations Findings in the State Medical Facilities Plan which indicate the number of new beds, stations, or services which are available for Certificate of Need review within the specified calendar year. These findings constitute "...a determinative limitation on the provision of any health service, health service facility, health service facility beds, dialysis stations, ambulatory surgical operating rooms, or home health offices that may be approved." (The last part quoted from the CON Statute, G.S. 131E-183(a)(1))
Neglect Neglect means the failure to provide the services necessary to maintain a resident's physical or mental health. (G.S. 131D-2.1, G.S. 131D-20)
Non-Profit Agency Non-profit agency means any nonprofit corporation existing or hereafter created and empowered to acquire, by lease or otherwise, operate or maintain health care facilities. (G.S. 131A-3)
North Carolina New Organizational Vision Award (NC NOVA) A special licensure designation for home care agencies and nursing homes licensed pursuant to Chapter 131E-154.13 and adult care homes licensed pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes, that have been determined through written and on-site reveiw by an independent review organization to have met a comprehensive set of workplace related interventions intended to improve the recruitment and retention, quality, and job satisfaction of direct care staff and the care provided to long-term care clients and residents. (G.S. 131E-154.13)
N.C. NOVA Partner Team The entity responsible for developing the criteria and protocols for the NC NOVA special licensure designation. The Partner Team is inclusive of representatives from the following organizations: Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina, Duke University Nursing Program, North Carolina Assisted Living Association, North Carolina Association of Long Term Care Facilities, LeadingAge North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Foundation for Advanced Health Programs, North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association, The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Institute on Aging. (G.S. 131E-154.13)
North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council

North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council means the council that prepares, with the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Medical Facilities Plan. (G.S. 131E-176)

The council is a twenty-seven member advisory board, appointed by the governor, to work with the Department of Health and Human Services in preparation of the annual State Medical Facilities Plan. Members are from communities across the state and include consumers, business and industry representatives, health care services providers, and legislators. Members serve for four-year terms, on a staggered appointment schedule, or until their successors are appointed and duly qualified. Members may be re-appointed. Most of the council's work is accomplished through three standing committees: the Acute Care Services Committee, the Long-Term Behavioral Health Committee, and the Technology and Equipment Committee. All council and committee meetings are open to the public.

Notes Notes means the bond anticipation notes authorized to be issued by the commission under G.S. 131A. (G.S. 131A-3)
Nurse Aide I Any unlicensed individual, regardless of title, who has successfully completed a state-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program or state-approved competency evaluation program and is listed on the Nurse Aide I Registry maintained by the Division of Health Service Regulation. The individual performs nursing care activities, defined by the N.C. Board of Nursing, under the supervision of a licensed nurse.
Nurse Aide I Registry A registry containing the names of health care personnel who have successfully completed a state-approved Nurse Aide I training and competency evaluation program or state-approved competency evaluation program or comparable program approved by the department. Individuals listed on this registry with substantiated findings of abuse or neglect of a resident in a nursing home or misappropriation of the property of a nursing home resident may not be employed by a Medicare/Medicaid certified nursing facility.
Nurse Aide II Any unlicensed individual, regardless of title, who has completed a N.C. Board of Nursing-approved Level II nurse aide program, and who in addition to being listed on the Nurse Aide I Registry, is listed on the Nurse Aide II Registry maintained by the Board. The individual performs nursing care activities, defined by the Board, under the supervision of a licensed nurse.
Nurse Aide II Registry A N.C. Board of Nursing-maintained registry containing the names of health care personnel who have successfully completed a Level II nurse aide training program.
Nursing Care

Nursing care means:

  1. Skilled nursing care and related services for residents who require medical or nursing care;
  2. Rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled, or sick persons; or
  3. Health-related care and services provided on a regular basis to individuals who because of their mental or physical condition require care and services above the level of room and board, which can be made available to them only through institutional facilities.

These are services which are not primarily for the care and treatment of mental diseases. (G.S. 131E-176)

Nursing Care Activities Activities performed by unlicensed personnel that are delegated by licensed nurses in accordance with rules set forth by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. Reference 21 NCAC 36 .0401.
Nursing Facility Nursing facility means a combination home as defined in G.S. 131E-101(1a) and a nursing home as defined in G.S. 131E-101(6) and also means facility as that term is defined in G.S. 131E-116(2). (G.S. 131E-255)
Nursing Home

Nursing home means a facility, however named, which is advertised, announced, or maintained for the express or implied purpose of providing nursing or convalescent care for three or more persons unrelated to the licensee. A nursing home is a home for chronic or convalescent patients, who, on admission, are not as a rule, acutely ill and who do not require special facilities such as an operating room, X-ray facilities, laboratory facilities, and obstetrical facilities. A nursing home provides care for persons who have remedial ailments or other ailments, for which medical and nursing care are indicated; who, however, are not sick enough to require general hospital care. Nursing care is their primary need, but they will require continuing medical supervision. (G.S. 131E-101)

Nursing home means a nursing home licensed under this Chapter and includes an adult care home operated as part of a nursing home. (G.S. 131E-128.1)

Nursing Home Facility Nursing home facility means a health service facility whose bed complement of health service facility beds is composed principally of nursing home facilty beds. (G.S. 131E-176)
Nursing Pool Nursing pool means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association engaged for hire in the business of providing or procuring temporary employment in health care facilities for nursing personnel, including nurses, nursing assistants, nurses aides, and orderlies. Nursing pool does not include an individual who engages solely in providing his own services on a temporary basis to health care facilities. (G.S. 131E-154.2)
O
Operating Room Operating room means a room used for the performance of surgical procedures requiring one or more incisions and that is required to comply with all applicable licensure codes and standards for an operating room. (G.S. 131E-76, G.S. 131E-146, G.S. 131E-176)
P
Palliative Care Palliative care means treatment directed at controlling pain, relieving other symptoms, and focusing on the special needs of the patient and family as they experience the stress of the dying process, rather than the treatment aimed at investigation and intervention for the purpose of cure or prolongation of life. (G.S. 131E-201)
Pending - Health Care Personnel The term used to describe on-going investigations of allegations made against health care personnel. Reference the N.C. General Statute 131E-256(a)(1)(2)(b)(c) for the list of covered allegations, facility types and health care personnel.
Personal Care Services Personal care services means any hands-on services allowed to be performed by In-Home Aides II or III as outlined in department rules. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
Psychiatric Facility Psychiatric facility means a public or private facility licensed pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes and which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, psychiatric services for the diagnosis and treatment of mentally ill persons. (G.S. 131E-176)
Public Agency Public agency means any county, city, town, hospital district or other political subdivision of the state existing or hereafter created pursuant to the laws of the state authorized to acquire, by lease or otherwise, operate or maintain health care facilities. (G.S. 131A-3)
Public Hospital Public hospital means any hospital facility operated on a nonprofit basis, any hospital that is owned or operated by the state, or any hospital as defined in G.S. 159-39(a). (G.S. 131E-48)
Q
R
Registration Registration means the submission by a multiunit assisted housing with services provider of a disclosure statement containing all the information as outlined in the multiunit assisted housing with services definition. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
Rehabilitation Facility Rehabilitation facility means a public or private inpatient facility which is operated for the primary purpose of assisting in the rehabilitation of disabled persons through an integrated program of medical and other services which are provided under competent, professional supervision. (G.S. 131E-176)
Relevant Offense Relevant offense means a county, state or federal criminal history of conviction or pending indictment of a crime, whether a misdemeanor or felony, that bears upon an individual's fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of aged or disabled persons. These crimes include the criminal offenses set forth in any of the following Articles of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes: Article 5, Counterfeiting and Issuing Monetary Substitutes; Article 5A, Endangering Executive and Legislative Officers; Article 6, Homicide; Article 7A, Rape and Other Sex Offenses; Article 8, Assaults; Article 10, Kidnapping and Abduction; Article 13, Malicious Injury or Damage by Use of Explosive or Incendiary Devise or Material; Article 14, Burglary and Other Housebreakings; Article 15, Arson and Other Burnings; Article 16, Larceny; Article 17, Robbery; Article 18, Embezzlement; Article 19, False Pretenses and Cheats; Article 19A, Obtaining Property or Services by False or Fraudulent Use of Credit Devise or Other Means; Article 19B, Financial Transaction Card Crime Act; Article 20, Frauds; Article 21, Forgery; Article 26, Offenses against Public Morality and Decency; Article 26A, Adult Establishments; Article 27, Prostitution; Article 28, Perjury; Article 29, Bribery; Article 31, Misconduct in Public Office; Article 35, Offenses Against the Public Peace; Article 36A, Riots and Civil Disorders; Article 39, Protection of Minors; Article 40, Protection of the Family; Article 59, Public Intoxication; and Article 60, Computer-Related Crime. These crimes also include possession or sale of drugs in violation of the North Carolina Controlled Susbstances Act, Article 5 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, and alcohol-related offenses such as sale to underage persons in violation of G.S. 18B-302 or driving while impaired in violation of G.S. 20-138.1, G.S. 20-138.2, G.S. 20-138.2A, G.S. 20-138.2B, G.S. 20-138.2C, G.S. 20-138.3, G.S. 20-138.4, or G.S. 20-138.5. (G.S. 131D-40)
Resident

Resident means a person living in an assisted living residence for the purpose of obtaining access to housing and services provided or made available by housing management. (G.S. 131D-2.1)

Resident means an aged or disabled person who has been admitted to a facility. (G.S. 131D-20)

Resident means a person who has been admitted to a long-term care facility. (G.S. 131E-231)

S
Secretary Secretary means the Secretary of the Health and Human Services unless some other meaning is clearly indicated from the context. (G.S. 131D-2.1)
Semiannual Dialysis Report This report determines the need for new dialysis stations in accordance with the "County Need" methodology and calculates current utilization rates as the basis for application of the "Facility Need" methodology. It is published by the Medical Facilities Planning Section twice each year pursuant to Chapter 14: End-Stage Renal Disease Dialysis Facilities of the "State Medical Facilities Plan." Facility, station and active patient data from the end of the previous December are used for each year's July semiannual Dialysis Report, and data from the end of June are used for each year's September semiannual Dialysis Report. Copies of the most recent semiannual Dialysis Report may be obtained by contacting the Medical Facilities Planning Section at 919-855-3865.
Special Care Unit Special care unit means a wing or hallway within an adult care home, or a program provided by an adult care home, that is designated especially for residents with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, a mental health disability, or other disease or condition as determined by the N.C. Medical Care Commission. (G.S. 131D-4.6)
State State means the state of North Carolina. (G.S. 131A-3)
State Medical Facilities Plan

This is an annual document which contains policies and methodologies used in determining the need for new health care facilities and services in North Carolina. Need determinations and, where appropriate, Certificate of Need application due dates are listed in each service area chapter. The plan also contains background information on the N. C. State Health Coordinating Council, on the annual planning cycle, and general policies related to implementing the planning cycle. The State Medical Facilities Plan is prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council, and approved by the governor. Each plan takes effect on January 1st and expires on December 31st. Copies may be ordered from the Medical Facilities Planning Section. An order form is available.

State Medical Facilities Plan means the plan prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council, and approved by the governor. In preparing the plan, the department and the N.C. State Health Coordinating Council shall maintain a mailing list of persons who have requested notice of public hearings regarding the plan. Not less than 15 days prior to a scheduled public hearing, the department shall notify persons on its mailing list of the date, time, and location of the hearing. The department shall hold at least one public hearing prior to the adoption of the proposed plan and at least six public hearings after the adoption of the proposed plan by the N.C. State Health Coordinating Council. The council shall accept oral and written comments from the public concerning the plan. (G.S. 131E-176)

Substantiated Finding - Health Care Personnel A determination by the department that an allegation of resident abuse or neglect, misappropriation of resident or facility property, diversion of drugs belonging to a resident or facility or fraud against a resident or facility has occurred. Reference 10A NCAC 13O .0101(4). Substantiated findings are included on the Nurse Aide I Registry and the Health Care Personnel Registry.
T
Trauma Trauma means acute physical injury to the human body that is judged, by the use of standardized field triage criteria (anatomic, physiologic, or mechanism of injury), to create a significant risk of mortality or major morbidity. (G.S. 131E-154.2)
Type A Violation Type A Violation means a violation by a facility's licensee of the regulations, standards, and requirements set forth in G.S. 131E-117, or applicable state or federal laws and regulations governing the licensure or certification of a facility which results in death or serious physical harm, or results in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm will occur. Type A violations shall be abated or eliminated immediately. The department shall require an immediate plan of correction for each Type A violation. The person making the findings shall do the following:
  1. Orally and immediately inform the administrator of the facility of the specific findings and what must be done to correct them and set a date by which the violation must be corrected;
  2. Within 10 working days of the investigation, confirm in writing to the administrator the information provided orally under sub-subdivision a. of this subdivision; and
  3. Provide a copy of the written confirmation required under sub-subdivision b. of this subdivision to the department.

The department shall impose a civil penalty in an amount not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each Type A violation. (G.S. 131E-129)

Type A Violation means a violation by a facility of the regulations, standards, and requirements set forth in G.S. 131D-21 or applicable state or federal laws and regulations governing the licensure or certification of a facility which results in death or serious physical harm, or results in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm will occur. Type A violations shall be abated or eliminated immediately. The department shall require an immediate plan or correction for each Type A violation. The person making the findings shall do the following:

  1. Orally and immediately inform the administrator of the facility of the specific findings and what must be done to correct them, and set a date by which the violation must be corrected;
  2. Within 10 working days of the investigation, confirm in writing to the administrator the information provided orally under sub-subdivision a. of this subdivision; and
  3. Provide a copy of the written confirmation required under sub-subdivision b. of this subdivision to the department.

The department shall impose a civil penalty in an amount not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each Type A violation in homes licensed for six or fewer beds. The department shall impose a civil penalty in an amount not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for each Type A violation in facilities licensed for seven or more beds. (G.S. 131D-34)

Type B Violation

Type B Violation means a violation by a facility's licensee of the regulations, standards and requirements set forth in G.S. 131E-117 or applicable state or federal laws and regulations governing the licensure or certification of a facility which presents a direct relationship to the health, safety, or welfare of any resident, but which does not result in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm will occur. The department shall require a plan of correction for each Type B violation and may require the facility to establish a specific plan of correction within a specific time period to address the violation. (G.S. 131E-129)

Type B Violation means a violation by a facility of the regulations, standards and requirements set forth in G.S. 131D-21 or applicable state or federal laws and regulations governing the licensure or certification of a facility which present a direct relationship to the health, safety, or welfare of any resident, but which does not result in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm will occur. The department shall require a plan of correction for each Type B violation and may require the facility to establish a specific plan of correction within a reasonable time period to address the violation. The required plan cannot exceed requirements imposed by existing rule or law. (G.S. 131D-34)

U
Unlicensed Assistive Personnel The term used to describe an unlicensed individual who is trained to function in an assistive role to the licensed nurse in the provision of direct and indirect patient care under the direction of a registered nurse. (Reference: American Nurses Association Position Statement 1992); commonly referred to as UAP's.
V
W
X
Y
Z