Rule 3701-17-01 | Definitions.
As used in rules 3701-17-01 to 3701-17-26 of the Administrative Code:
(A) "Accommodations" means housing, meals, laundry, housekeeping, transportation, social or recreational activities, maintenance, security, or similar services that are not personal care services or skilled nursing care.
(B) "Activities of daily living" means bed mobility, locomotion and transfer, bathing, grooming, oral hygiene, toileting, dressing, and eating.
(C) "Administrator" means the individual, licensed as a nursing home administrator under Chapter 4751. of the Revised Code, who is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and managing the operation of the nursing home.
(D) "Chemical restraint" means any drug that is used for discipline or staff convenience and not prescribed to treat medical symptoms.
(E) "Complex therapeutic diet" has the same meaning as "therapeutic diet" as that term is defined in paragraph (NN) of this rule.
(F) "Department" means the department of health of the state of Ohio.
(G) "Dietitian" means an individual licensed under Chapter 4759. of the Revised Code to practice dietetics.
(H) "Director" means the director of the department of health of the state of Ohio or the director's duly authorized representative.
(I) "Elopement" occurs when a resident leaves a home or safe area without the facilities knowledge or without supervision. A situation in which a resident with decision-making capacity leaves the home will not be considered an elopement unless the home has reason to suspect, or the circumstances surrounding the resident's departure indicate, that the departure is unusual or atypical.
(J) "Full-time" means an individual works thirty hours or more per week.
(K) "Habitable floor area" means the clear floor area of a room and the floor area occupied by the usual bedroom furniture, such as beds, chairs, dressers, and tables and does not include the floor area occupied by wardrobes unless the wardrobe is of the resident's own choice and it is in addition to the individual closet space in the resident's room, and areas partitioned off in the room such as closets and toilet rooms.
(L) "Home" has the same meaning as in division (A)(1) of section 3721.01 of the Revised Code.
(M) "Hospice care program" or "hospice" means an entity licensed under Chapter 3712. of the Revised Code.
(N) "Lot" means a plot or parcel of land considered as a unit, devoted to a certain use, or occupied by a building or group of buildings that are united by a common interest and use, and the customary accessories and open spaces belonging to the same.
(O) "Licensed practical nurse" means a person licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code to practice nursing as a licensed practical nurse.
(P) "Maximum licensed capacity" means the authorized type and number of residents in a nursing home as determined in rule 3701-17-04 of the Administrative Code.
(Q) "Mechanically altered food" means that the texture of food is altered by chopping, grinding, mashing, or pureeing so that it can be successfully chewed and safely swallowed.
(R) "Mental impairment" means a condition in which a part of a person's brain has been damaged or is not working properly. Mental impairment does not mean mental illness as defined in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code or intellectual disability as used in Chapter 5123. of the Revised Code.
(S) "Nurse" means a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse.
(T) "Nurse aide" means an individual as defined in paragraph (A)(3) of rule 3701-17-07.1 of the Administrative Code.
(U) "Nursing home" has the same meaning as in section 3721.01 of the Revised Code.
(V) "Ohio building code" means the building standards as adopted by the board of building standards pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.
(W) "On duty" means being in the nursing home, awake, and immediately available.
(X) "Operator" means the person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation which is obligated by section 3721.05 of the Revised Code to obtain a license in order to open, maintain, or operate a home.
(Y) "Personal care services" means services including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Assisting residents with activities of daily living;
(2) Assisting residents with self-administration of medication, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3721.04 of the Revised Code;
(3) Preparing special diets, other than therapeutic diets, for residents pursuant to the instructions of a physician or a licensed dietitian, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3721.04 of the Revised Code.
"Personal care services" does not include "skilled nursing care" as defined in paragraph (JJ) of this rule.
(Z) "Pharmacist" means an individual licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code to practice pharmacy.
(AA) "Physically restrained" means that residents are confined or in the home in such a manner that the freedom for normal egress from the home is dependent upon the unlocking or unbolting by others of one or more doors or barriers, or the removal of physical restraints, except as permitted under paragraph (B)(3) of rule 3701-17-15 of the Administrative Code.
(BB) "Physical restraint" means, but is not limited to, any article, device, or garment that interferes with the free movement of the resident and that the resident is unable to remove easily, a geriatric chair, or a locked room door.
(CC) "Physician" means an individual licensed under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery.
(DD) "Resident" means an individual for whom the nursing home provides accommodations.
(EE) "Residential care facility" has the same meaning as in section 3721.01 of the Revised Code.
(FF) "Residential facility" has the same meaning as in section 5119.34 of the Revised Code.
(GG) "Residents' rights advocate" means:
(1) An employee or representative of any state or local government entity that has a responsibility regarding residents and that has registered with the department of health under division (B) of section 3701.07 of the Revised Code;
(2) An employee or representative of any private nonprofit corporation or association that qualifies for tax-exempt status under section 501(a) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended (2015), and that has registered with the department of health under division (B) of section 3701.07 of the Revised Code and whose purposes include educating and counseling residents, assisting residents in resolving problems and complaints concerning their care and treatment, and assisting them in securing adequate services to meet their needs;
(3) A member of the general assembly.
(HH) "Registered nurse" means an individual licensed to practice nursing as a registered nurse under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code.
(II) "Resident call system" means a set of devices that are connected electrically, electronically, by radio frequency transmission, or in a like manner that can effectively alert the staff member or members on duty, at the nurses' station or at another point in the nursing unit, of emergencies or resident needs and that can not be deactivated from any location except from where the resident initiated the call.
(JJ) "Skilled nursing care" means procedures that include technical skills and knowledge beyond those the untrained person possesses and that are commonly employed in providing for the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated. "Skilled nursing care" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Irrigations, catheterizations, application of dressings, and supervision of special diets and therapeutic diets;
(2) Objective observation of changes in the resident's condition as a means of analyzing and determining the nursing care necessary and the need for further medical diagnosis and treatment;
(3) Special procedures contributing to rehabilitation including programs that prevent falls and other incidents that can result in loss of physical function;
(4) Administration of medication by any method ordered by a physician, such as hypodermically, rectally, or orally, including observation of the resident after receipt of the medication and including intravenously-administered medication;
(5) Carrying out other treatments prescribed by the physician that involve a similar level of complexity and skill in administration. This is including but not limited to:
(a) Treatments and services to prevent or heal pressure sores;
(b) Tube feeding management;
(c) Respiratory and trachea care management;
(d) Suctioning; and
(e) Pain management.
(KK) "Special diet" means a therapeutic diet limited to:
(1) Nutrient adjusted diets, including high protein, no added salt, and no concentrated sweets;
(2) Volume adjusted diets, including small, medium, and large portions;
(3) The use of finger foods or bite-sized pieces for a resident's physical needs; or
(4) Mechanically altered food.
(LL) "Sponsor" means an adult relative, friend, or guardian of a resident who has an interest or responsibility in the resident's welfare.
(MM) "Supervision" means the monitoring of a resident to ensure that the health, safety, and welfare of the resident is protected.
(NN) "Therapeutic diet" means a diet ordered by a health care practitioner:
(1) As part of the treatment for a disease or clinical condition;
(2) To modify, eliminate, decrease, or increase certain substances in the diet; or
(3) To provide mechanically altered food when indicated.
(OO) "Toilet room" means a room or rooms conforming to the Ohio building code, and including a water closet and a lavatory which is located in or adjacent to the room in which the water closet is located.
(PP) "Volunteer" means an individual working in or used by a home who does not receive or expect to receive any form of compensation for services the individual performs other than reimbursement for actual expenses.
Last updated July 17, 2025 at 7:45 AM
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