|
 CODE
OF ETHICS
PURPOSE:
To
assure that the public, state government and those who come
under its supervision have trust and confidence in this
Board’s activities and decisions.
The goal is to establish a set of expectations that
will help to guide individual Board members in their
deliberations and actions.
The intention is to provide broad but practical
guidelines that address certain important ethical issues
pertinent to Board service.
PRINCIPLES:
|
To
ensure that the public will have access to competent,
safe and ethical administrators of long-term care
facilities throughBoard activities. |
| 2. |
To
emphasize the importance that Board members are
familiar with the laws, rules, policies and procedures
that pertain to their service. |
| 3. |
To
ascertain that Board members serve at the pleasure of
their appointing authority. |
| 4. |
To
stress that all Board members must avoid any actual or
perceived conflict of interest that may compromise
their integrity or that of the entire group. |
| 5. |
To
understand that Board members avoid relationships and
activities that could affect their duties adversely. |
| 6. |
To
constantly keep in mind that members understand the
importance of representing the public interest at all
times and that their actions should never appear to be
on behalf of private organizations or groups. |
|
|
|
|
PERTINENT DETAILS:
In
order to meet the above-stated purposes and principles, it
appears prudent that the following details be recalled at all
times by the Board both collectively and individually.
This document does not propose to spell out actions and
activities in great detail nor is it meant to have the force
of law. Instead,
the hope is that all Board members recall these
recommendations during the performance of their duties.
1. Personal Attributes of Board Members:
Although the Board does not in itself select the
membership, it often can influence or recommend individuals
who are suitable to join the group.
The precise qualities of potential new appointees often
can be difficult to define, but they should have
characteristics likely to assure public trust and confidence.
Among such attributes are:
| a. |
Recognized
integrity; |
| b. |
A
history of public service; |
| c. |
A
commitment to the Board’s mission; |
| d. |
Good
knowledge, best developed through considerable
experience of long-term care; |
| e. |
Respect
for others (not only Board members but also for
administrators and for public views/opinions); |
| f. |
Consumer
advocacy; and |
| g. |
A
sense of fairness. |
| Of great importance is an understanding of the
difference between minimal and high
standards of practice.
The candidate also should be able to help in building
consensus and avoiding conflict. |
2. Board Decisions and Actions:
All Board recommendations, decisions and actions
should strongly consider the public’s interest even though,
as a licensing agency, it must give major consideration to the
professionals with whom it deals in all of its deliberations.
The mechanism by which decisions are made and the
resulting actions must be matters of public record.
As is the rule in Nevada, these actions are always
subject to open meeting laws.
Important general considerations are:
| a. |
That the Board scrupulously follow all
rules/regulations which pertain to
its activities;
|
| b. |
That these laws be reviewed periodically so that they
are known to all;
|
| c. |
That all Board actions be fair, equitable, impartial
and nonpartisan;
|
| d. |
That all Board activities be documented carefully;
|
| e. |
That individual members cannot serve as spokespersons
for the Board unless properly designated to act in that
capacity; and
|
| f. |
That equivalent licensure criteria are applied to all
potential licensees.
|
| Board decisions must be focused on its mission; these
decisions must be reported to all concerned (the public, all licensees and
appropriate databanks). Board disciplinary actions must include due process, confidentiality, no
prejudgment and adherence to proper process as established by the representative of
the State Attorney General
assigned to the Board for this purpose.
|
3. External Activities and Relations of Individual Board Members:
These actions should be of a high moral and ethical
nature at all times, always reflecting favorably on the
Board’s integrity. If
conflicts of interest arise, Board members should consult an
impartial third party (preferably another Board member, the
Attorney General’s representative or the Board leadership).
The behavior of members must meet all ethical
considerations as stated herein or as are generally
acceptable. It is
imperative that personal and financial conflicts of interest
be avoided consistently.
Maintenance of confidentiality is essential. A Board member should not serve as an officer or Board member
of a professional trade association.
Privacy must be respected and confidential information
must never be disclosed.
Actions or statements made to others outside of the
Board should not be designed to influence the outcome of Board
activities.
4. Accountability:
The Board and its members are accountable to those
whom it serves, namely the public, plus the practitioners it
licenses who depend on the fair and equitable adoption and
application of statues and regulations.
To this end, attention should be paid to the following
important principles. These
include:
| a. |
Proper record keeping including licenses, complaints,
disciplinary action, and accurate budget and financial
reports;
|
| b. |
Maintaining criteria to review the complaint process
including an accurate tracking system, timely complaint
resolution, avoiding bias, adequate investigative resources,
proper reporting of actions to a central database and
expedited dispute resolutions;
|
| c. |
Public relations efforts such as websites, press
releases, if indicated, useful educational materials,
newsletters as needed, information on Board meetings,
surveys/feedbacks; and
|
| d. |
Attention to evaluation of Board member performance
including a high level of attendance, interaction with other
Board members during regular meetings and, in special
committees, noting that members are knowledgeable about
ethical and legal issues concerning Board activities and
honesty about any personal agendas. |
|
