50-10.3-03. Access to long-term care facilities for essential caregivers
1. The department, working jointly with the state long-term care ombudsman, residents
and tenants, families of residents and tenants, and long-term care facility
representatives, shall establish basic protocols to allow a resident of a long-term care
facility or the resident's designated decisionmaker designate one or more individuals
as the resident's essential caregivers, including during a declaration of disaster or
emergency.
a. If a declaration of disaster or emergency results in restricted access to a
long-term care facility, the department shall review and update the protocols
every thirty days during the period of restriction, including an assessment of the
need for continuation of the restriction.
b. An essential caregiver shall meet the necessary qualifications to enter the long-
term care facility to provide in-person physical, spiritual, or emotional support to a
resident of a long-term care facility in accordance with the protocols established
under this section.
2. The protocols must include:
a. Safety measures for an essential caregiver which may include restrictions on
travel, enhanced testing for communicable diseases, and the necessary safety
equipment required to protect the health and safety of the residents of the long-
term care facility; and
b. Procedures to replace an essential caregiver due to necessary circumstances,
including illness or death of the essential caregiver.
