NAC449.371. Intensive care services.

     1. If a hospital provides intensive care services, the services must be well-organized and provided in accordance with nationally recognized standards of practice.

     2. An intensive care unit must be under the direction of a qualified member of the medical staff.

     3. Written policies and procedures must be developed and maintained by the director of the intensive care unit, in consultation with other appropriate health-care professionals and the administration of the hospital. The administration and medical staff of the hospital must approve procedures to be used by the intensive care unit when approval of such procedures is appropriate.

     4. The responsibility and the accountability of the intensive care unit to the medical staff and administration must be set forth in writing by the director of the intensive care unit.

     5. Whenever a patient is present in the intensive care unit, a registered nurse, with training and experience in intensive care nursing, shall supervise the nursing care and nursing management of the intensive care service.

     6. All licensed nurses working in an intensive care unit must:

     (a) Have training and experience in intensive care nursing; or

     (b) Work under the direct supervision of a registered nurse who has training and experience in intensive care nursing.

     7. The hospital shall establish a system for determining the nursing needs of each patient in the intensive care unit that includes an assessment made by a registered nurse trained in critical care of the patient’s needs and the provision of staffing based on that assessment.

     8. The hospital shall follow the written policies for the plans for nurse staffing, which are dependent upon the acuity level of the patients in the intensive care unit, to ensure that the needs of the patients are met.

     9. A respiratory therapist or respiratory technician, physical therapist and other supportive personnel must be available depending upon the requirements of the intensive care unit.

     10. The equipment and supplies for the intensive care unit must be adequate to meet the needs of the patients in the intensive care unit.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health by R050-99, eff. 9-27-99)