(a) The State Board of Health shall promulgate rules necessary to implement this subchapter.
(b) To be eligible for reimbursement under this subchapter, the private care agency shall provide personal care services that comply with rules promulgated by the board.
(c) The board shall:
(1) Establish a separate licensure category for private care agencies that provide personal care services twenty-four (24) hours a day and seven (7) days a week;
(2)
(A) Adopt, promulgate, and enforce rules and standards as necessary to implement this subchapter.
(B) A rule adopted to implement this subchapter shall be amended or repealed by the board as in the interest of the public through the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.;
(3) Require that:
(A)
(i) A qualified supervisor shall establish the frequency of in-person supervisory visits as part of the patient's plan of care based on the specific needs of the patient and the recommendations of the registered nurse.
(ii) The frequency of in-person visits shall be at least annually.
(iii)
(a) A qualified supervisor shall be a licensed nurse or have completed two (2) years of full-time study at an accredited institution of higher education.
(b) An individual who has a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma may substitute one (1) year of full-time employment in a supervisory capacity in a healthcare facility or community-based agency for one (1) year at an institution of higher education; and
(B) A private care agency maintain a primary location in Arkansas and a sufficient number of regional offices to adequately service the administrative needs of the private care agency and the patients of the private care agency; and
(4) Not require:
(A) A registered nurse to visit a patient every sixty-two (62) days to supervise services; or
(B) A branch office of a private care agency to be within a one-hundred-mile radius of a patient's home.
(d) The Department of Health shall implement the board's rules and supervise the conduct of the private care agencies as defined under this subchapter.