ORDERS:
CONSENT ORDER
The parties to this litigation, wishing to end their differences prior to any hearing by an Administrative Law Judge, have
entered into the following agreement:
- The Department is a state agency designated to license and regulate community
residential care facilities within the State of South Carolina. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 44-7-110 to 370 (Supp. 1999).
- On August 27, 1999, the Department began an investigation as a result of
a complaint by a citizen, the substance of the complaint alleging that the Petitioner was operating a community residential
care facility without a license. By report dated October 8, 1999, the Department found Blairhaus, Inc., 333 West Butler
Street, Lexington, S.C. to be an unlicensed community residential care facility.
- The Department imposed a $5,000.00 (five thousand dollar) monetary penalty
against Blairhaus, Inc. for its operation of an unlicensed community residential care facility and ordered it to cease its
operation of an unlicensed community residential care .
- The Petitioner appealed the Department's decision to impose the $5,000.00
monetary penalty.
- The parties are agreed that it is not in the best interests of either party at this time
to proceed to hearing before the Administrative Law Judge, but to settle their differences by way of compromise and
conciliation.
- The parties are agreed that the Petitioner will require each resident to submit a
physician's assessment of their health status as part of its policy and practices. The physicians' assessments will be part of
each resident's application file. Copies of the physicians' assessments of its current residents will be provided to the
Department as soon as possible.
- The parties are agreed that the Petitioner's residents will be assessed by a licensed
physician as to propriety of the level of care prior to admission and at least annually. If a resident's condition changes, the
Petitioner will immediately have a physician to assess the resident as to propriety of care. Placement of residents requiring
community residential care facility level of care or higher will be accomplished in a timely manner.
- The parties are agreed that any contract and/or agreement the Petitioner has with
its residents will indicate that it only provides room and meals. A specimen copy of such contract/and or agreement will be
provided to the Department. The contract and/or agreement will also indicate that the Petitioner does not provide a degree
of personal assistance such as that found in a licensed community residential care facility.
9. The parties are agreed that Petitioner will not provide a degree of personal assistance for a period of time in excess
of twenty-four consecutive hours for two or more persons, eighteen years old or older, unrelated to the operator within the
third degree of consanguinity.
10. For the purposes of conciliation, the parties are agreed that the Petitioner shall pay the sum of $1,000.00 within ten (10)
days of the date this Order is signed by the Administrative Law Judge.
11. The parties are agreed that if within twelve (12) months from the date of entry into this Decree the Department
establishes that the Petitioner has committed acts which would require it to have a community residential care facility
license, without Petitioner having first obtained said license, the Petitioner will pay the sum $4,000.00 to the Department in
addition to being liable for any other lawful sanctions imposed by the Department.
IT IS AGREED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES that this is, in fact, no admission of liability whatsoever on the
part of Petitioner; that Petitioner absolutely denies ever having operated unlawfully as an unlicensed community residential
care facility; and that the sums paid hereunder are for the purposes herein-above recited and for those purposes only.
Likewise, the parties acknowledge that the Department in no way waives its authority to enforce, by imposing penalties or
otherwise, all statutory and regulatory requirements for licensure of community residential care facilities or for any other
claimed violation of the law and/or regulations administered by the Department.
The Consent Order fully and finally resolves all of the claims and actions that the Department may have had with respect to
the claims herein made, except any claim that the Department may have that the Petitioner has failed to comply fully with
the terms of this particular Consent Order.
The action entitled Blairhaus, Inc. vs. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Docket No.00-ALJ-070044-CC, is hereby resolved. The Department now terminates its action against the Petitioner and the Petitioner
withdraws her appeal before the Administrative Law Judge.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
April 25, 2000
Date Ray N. Stevens
Administrative Law Judge |
