RSA 151:6-a. Annual Inspection.

I. The department of health and human services shall make at least one annual unannounced clinical inspection of every facility licensed under this chapter, except home health care agencies and home care service provider agencies, which shall be inspected no less frequently than once every 24 months. The purpose of the inspection shall be to determine that the facility is in compliance with all provisions of this chapter and applicable clinical rules adopted under this chapter. For residential care facilities, the inspection shall include a review of the programs and services offered in the facility to assure that the facility is in compliance with its current level of licensure, and a survey of the most recent individual resident needs determinations where such surveys are not done under the survey and certification process for Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended, to assure that the facility and its programs and services are appropriate to the needs of the residents. The department shall also conduct compliance monitoring visits as necessary to ensure that corrective action required to correct cited violations of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter have been appropriately implemented. Inspection results shall be provided as a written report that identifies any noncompliance with this chapter and applicable clinical rules adopted under this chapter. The results of this inspection and any later inspection shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the facility in the manner determined by the commissioner of the department of health and human services. The results so posted shall indicate the facilities and services inspected and the results for each such facility or service. This section shall not apply to facilities or entities that have deemed status under RSA 151:5-b. If a residential care facility, as referenced under RSA 151:9, VII(a)(1) or (2) or an adult day care program as referenced under RSA 151:2, I(f) has been inspected and is found to be deficiency-free for 2 consecutive years it shall be granted a one-year waiver from the provisions of this section and thereafter shall be inspected every other year; provided, that the facility remains deficiency-free when it is inspected, that the facility is not the subject of a founded complaint investigation under RSA 151:6, and the facility remains under the same administrator who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the facility. II. (a) In addition to paragraph I of this section, if the state fire marshal authorizes the department to conduct life safety code inspections, the department shall make at least one annual, unannounced inspection of all facilities licensed under this chapter pursuant to that authorization. If in the course of such inspection the inspector finds that there are violations of the life safety code which the inspector believes must be corrected, the inspector shall provide the facility with a notice to correct. This notice shall identify the specific provisions of the life safety code that the inspector believes have been violated, and contain instructions with respect to corrective action to be taken. (b) If the facility disagrees with the notice to correct, the facility may request a review and determination by the state fire marshal, or may request a variance or exception from the state fire marshal. The notice to correct shall be stayed pending the fire marshal's decision. If the state fire marshal determines, following review, that the notice to correct or portions thereof should not have been issued, the department shall withdraw or amend the notice to correct in accordance with the fire marshal's determination. (c) Facilities shall be required to post notices to correct issued under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph. (d) Notwithstanding this section, if the state fire marshal has approved a compliance agreement relative to construction, renovation, alteration or other addition or structural change, the department, when conducting a life safety code inspection, shall not include in its notice to correct or its written report any matter falling within the scope of the compliance agreement, and shall take no action inconsistent with a determination made by the fire marshal. (e) This section shall not apply to facilities or entities that have deemed licensed status under RSA 151:5-b. (f) The results of all inspections under this paragraph shall be posted to the department's website in the manner determined by the commissioner of the department of health and human services. The results so posted shall indicate the facilities and services inspected and the results for each such facility or service. Inspection results shall not be subject to RSA 151:13. Source: Source. 1975, 190:1. 1981, 195:1. 1991, 365:6. 1995, 310:175, 181, 182, eff. Nov. 1, 1995. 2005, 274:3, eff. Jan. 1, 2006. 2010, 135:1, eff. June 14, 2010. 2012, 162:2, eff. June 7, 2012. 2025, 287:8, 9, eff. Sept. 30, 2025.