NRS449.196. Requirements for program of hospice care.

  No person, state or local government or agency may represent that it provides “hospice care” unless the program of care, either directly or indirectly:

      1.  Has a medical director whose responsibilities are appropriate to the needs of the program and who:

      (a) Is a physician, currently licensed to practice;

      (b) On the basis of training, experience and interest, is knowledgeable about the psychosocial and medical aspects of hospice; and

      (c) Acts as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary team which provides the hospice care;

      2.  Is provided to the patient, as needed, in the patient’s home, at a residential facility and at a medical facility, at any time of the day or night;

      3.  Includes medical, nursing, psychological and pastoral care and social services at the level required by the patient’s condition;

      4.  Provides supportive services for the patient’s immediate family and other persons with significant personal ties to the patient, whether or not related by blood, including:

      (a) Care for the patient which provides a respite from the stresses and responsibilities that result from the daily care of the patient; and

      (b) Emotional support and other care after the patient dies; and

      5.  Includes the services of trained volunteers.

      (Added to NRS by 1989, 1034)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 449.031)