Minnesota Statutes
Chapter 144A — Nursing Homes And Home Care
Section 144A.4796 — Orientation And Annual Training Requirements.

Subdivision 1. Orientation of staff and supervisors to home care. All staff providing and supervising direct home care services must complete an orientation to home care licensing requirements and regulations before providing home care services to clients. The orientation may be incorporated into the training required under subdivision 6. The orientation need only be completed once for each staff person and is not transferable to another home care provider.
Subd. 2. Content. (a) The orientation must contain the following topics:
(1) an overview of sections 144A.43 to 144A.4798;
(2) introduction and review of all the provider's policies and procedures related to the provision of home care services by the individual staff person;
(3) handling of emergencies and use of emergency services;
(4) compliance with and reporting of the maltreatment of minors or vulnerable adults under section 626.557 and chapter 260E;
(5) home care bill of rights under section 144A.44;
(6) handling of clients' complaints, reporting of complaints, and where to report complaints including information on the Office of Health Facility Complaints and the Common Entry Point;
(7) consumer advocacy services of the Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care, Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Managed Care Ombudsman at the Department of Human Services, county managed care advocates, or other relevant advocacy services; and
(8) review of the types of home care services the employee will be providing and the provider's scope of licensure.
(b) In addition to the topics listed in paragraph (a), orientation may also contain training on providing services to clients with hearing loss. Any training on hearing loss provided under this subdivision must be high quality and research-based, may include online training, and must include training on one or more of the following topics:
(1) an explanation of age-related hearing loss and how it manifests itself, its prevalence, and challenges it poses to communication;
(2) health impacts related to untreated age-related hearing loss, such as increased incidence of dementia, falls, hospitalizations, isolation, and depression; or
(3) information about strategies and technology that may enhance communication and involvement, including communication strategies, assistive listening devices, hearing aids, visual and tactile alerting devices, communication access in real time, and closed captions.
Subd. 3. Verification and documentation of orientation. Each home care provider shall retain evidence in the employee record of each staff person having completed the orientation required by this section.
Subd. 4. Orientation to client. Staff providing home care services must be oriented specifically to each individual client and the services to be provided. This orientation may be provided in person, orally, in writing, or electronically.
Subd. 5. Training required relating to Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. For home care providers that provide services for persons with Alzheimer's or related disorders, all direct care staff and supervisors working with those clients must receive training that includes a current explanation of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, effective approaches to use to problem-solve when working with a client's challenging behaviors, and how to communicate with clients who have Alzheimer's or related disorders.
Subd. 6. Required annual training. (a) All staff that perform direct home care services must complete at least eight hours of annual training for each 12 months of employment. The training may be obtained from the home care provider or another source and must include topics relevant to the provision of home care services. The annual training must include:
(1) training on reporting of maltreatment of minors under chapter 260E and maltreatment of vulnerable adults under section 626.557, whichever is applicable to the services provided;
(2) review of the home care bill of rights in section 144A.44;
(3) review of infection control techniques used in the home and implementation of infection control standards including a review of hand-washing techniques; the need for and use of protective gloves, gowns, and masks; appropriate disposal of contaminated materials and equipment, such as dressings, needles, syringes, and razor blades; disinfecting reusable equipment; disinfecting environmental surfaces; and reporting of communicable diseases; and
(4) review of the provider's policies and procedures relating to the provision of home care services and how to implement those policies and procedures.
(b) In addition to the topics listed in paragraph (a), annual training may also contain training on providing services to clients with hearing loss. Any training on hearing loss provided under this subdivision must be high quality and research-based, may include online training, and must include training on one or more of the following topics:
(1) an explanation of age-related hearing loss and how it manifests itself, its prevalence, and challenges it poses to communication;
(2) health impacts related to untreated age-related hearing loss, such as increased incidence of dementia, falls, hospitalizations, isolation, and depression; or
(3) information about strategies and technology that may enhance communication and involvement, including communication strategies, assistive listening devices, hearing aids, visual and tactile alerting devices, communication access in real time, and closed captions.
Subd. 7. Documentation. A home care provider must retain documentation in the employee records of the staff who have satisfied the orientation and training requirements of this section.
2013 c 108 art 11 s 24; 2014 c 275 art 1 s 135; 2017 c 51 s 1,2; 1Sp2019 c 9 art 11 s 62; 1Sp2020 c 2 art 8 s 25,26

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