§2503. Board of Examiners of Nursing Facility Administrators

            A.(1) There is hereby created within the Louisiana Department of Health the Board of Examiners of Nursing Facility Administrators. The board shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 36:803. The board shall be composed of thirteen members, ten of whom shall be ex officio members and three of whom shall be appointed by the governor as hereinafter provided.

            (2) The ex officio members of the board shall be:

            (a) The president of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association, Inc., or his designee.

            (b) The president of the Louisiana Medical Society or his designee.

            (c) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.

            (d) The director of the bureau of health services financing of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.

            (e) The president of Louisiana State University or his designee.

            (f) The president of Tulane University or his designee.

            (g) The president of Dillard University or his designee.

            (h) The president of the Louisiana Hospital Association or his designee.

            (i) The president of the Louisiana Association of Homes for the Aging or his designee.

            (j) The president of the Louisiana State Nurses Association or his designee.

            (3)(a) Three additional members shall be appointed by the governor from a list of names submitted to him by the board of directors of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association, Inc. or its successor. The association shall submit three names for each vacant position. Each appointment by the governor shall be submitted to the Senate for confirmation. The three members appointed by the governor shall serve three-year terms each.

            (b) Two members shall be licensed nursing facility administrators.

            (c) One member shall be sixty years of age or older and shall serve as a representative of the elderly consumers of Louisiana. The elderly member shall not be actively engaged in nursing facility administration.

            (4) All appointments to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. Each vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Members shall continue to serve until their position has been filled by appointment as prescribed above. A majority of the board members shall not be representative of a single profession or category of institution. Appointive members may be removed by the governor for cause after due notice and hearing.

            B. Each member of the board shall receive a per diem of at least fifty dollars but no more than one hundred dollars per day as determined by the board for each day of meeting and actual expenses in traveling to and from said meetings and the same per diem and expenses in attending to duties assigned by the board. No state employee or official serving on the board shall draw per diem or expenses from the board but travel and expenses shall be reimbursed according to the rules and regulations of the department.

            C.(1) The board shall elect biennially from its membership a chairman and vice chairman. Elections will be held on the last regular meeting of the board prior to July first, and the terms for chairman and vice chairman shall commence on July first.

            (2) Any member who is absent from three consecutive meetings within twelve consecutive months shall cause, through his absences, a vacancy to occur in his position. The position shall be deemed to be vacant only if the executive director finds that there is no valid excuse for the absences and after the board chairman verifies the number of unexcused absences. The position shall then be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

            D. The board shall meet at least four times each year. At any meeting of those present a majority shall constitute a quorum but shall not be less than five members. Of those present, no less than three shall be licensed nursing facility administrators.

            E. The chairman with consent of the board, shall appoint an executive director and an assistant executive director who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. They shall not be members of the board, and their compensation shall be fixed by the board. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed by law and the rules and regulations of the board. Sufficient clerical personnel to adequately assist the board and the executive director and the assistant in the keeping of the records and in the performance of their duties shall be provided.

            Added by Acts 1969, No. 131, §3. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 684, §26; Acts 1980, No. 667, §2, eff. July 24, 1980; Acts 1981, No. 809, §1; Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 13, §2, eff. July 1, 1983; Acts 1985, No. 536, §1; Acts 1987, No. 275, §1; Acts 1987, No. 825, §1; Acts 1992, No. 241, §1, eff. June 10, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 546, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2008, No. 370, §1, eff. June 21, 2008; Acts 2018, No. 206, §3.

NOTE: See Acts 1987, No. 825, §§2 and 3.