SECTION 490:10-13-1. Administrator Code of Ethics

(a)   The Board is committed to ethical professional conduct and therefore adopts the following standards to establish and maintain a high degree of integrity and dignity in the profession and to protect the public against unprofessional conduct on the part of long term care administrators. All long term care administrators and AITs shall be encouraged to participate in their professional association, the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA and often referred to as "the college") as a means of continually improving themselves as long term care professionals and another source for CEUs.

(b)   The American College of Health Care Administrators Code of Ethics is adopted as follows:

(1)   Preamble: The preservation of the highest standards of integrity and ethical principles is vital to the successful discharge of the professional responsibilities of all long-term health care administrators. This Code of Ethics has been promulgated by the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) in an effort to stress the fundamental rules considered essential to this basic purpose. It shall be the obligation of members to seek to avoid not only conduct specifically proscribed by the code, but also conduct that is inconsistent with its spirit and purpose. Failure to specify any particular responsibility or practice in this Code of Ethics should not be construed as denial of the existence of other responsibilities or practices. Recognizing that the ultimate responsibility for applying standards and ethics falls upon the individual, the ACHCA establishes the following Code of Ethics to make clear its expectation of the membership.

(2)   Expectation I: Individuals shall hold paramount the welfare of persons for whom care is provided.

(A)   Prescriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall:

(i)   Strive to provide to all those entrusted to his or her care the highest quality of appropriate services possible in light of resources or other constraints.

(ii)   Operate the facility consistent with laws, regulations, and standards of practice recognized in the field of health care administration.

(iii)   Consistent with law and professional standards, protect the confidentiality of information regarding individual recipients of care.

(iv)   Perform administrative duties with the personal integrity that will earn the confidence, trust, and respect of the general public.

(v)   Take appropriate steps to avoid discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, past, present or future status in the U.S. uniformed services, genetics, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.

(B)   Proscription: The Health Care Administrator shall not: Disclose professional or personal information regarding recipients of service to unauthorized personnel unless required by law or to protect the public welfare.

(3)   Expectation II: Individuals shall maintain high standards of professional competence.

(A)   Prescriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall:

(i)   Possess and maintain the competencies necessary to effectively perform his or her responsibilities.

(ii)   Practice administration in accordance with capabilities and proficiencies and, when appropriate, seek counsel from qualified others.

(iii)   Actively strive to enhance knowledge of and expertise in long-term care administration through continuing education and professional development.

(iv)   Demonstrate conduct that is in the best interest of the profession.

(B)   Proscriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall not:

(i)   Misrepresent qualifications, education, experience, or affiliations.

(ii)   Provide services other than those for which he or she is prepared and qualified to perform.

(iii)   Conduct themselves in a manner detrimental to the best interest of the profession.

(4)   Expectation III: Individuals shall strive, in all matters relating to their professional functions, to maintain a professional posture that places paramount the interests of the facility and its residents.

(A)   Prescriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall:

(i)   Avoid partisanship and provide a forum for the fair resolution of any disputes which may arise in service delivery or facility management.

(ii)   Disclose to the governing body or other authority as may be appropriate, any actual or potential circumstance concerning him or her that might reasonably be thought to create a conflict of interest or have a substantial adverse impact on the facility or its residents.

(B)   Proscriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall not: Participate in activities that reasonably may be thought to create a conflict of interest or have the potential to have a substantial adverse impact on the facility or its residents.

(5)   Expectation IV: Individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the public, their profession, and their relationships with colleagues and members of related professions.

(A)   Prescriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall:

(i)   Foster increased knowledge within the profession of health care administration and support research efforts toward this end.

(ii)   Participate with others in the community to plan for and provide a full range of health care services.

(iii)   Share areas of expertise with colleagues, students, and the general public to increase awareness and promote understanding of health care in general and the profession in particular.

(iv)   Inform the ACHCA Standards and Ethics Committee of actual or potential violations of this Code of Ethics, and fully cooperate with the ACHCA's sanctioned inquiries into matters of professional conduct related to this Code of Ethics.

(B)   Proscription: The Health Care Administrator shall not: Defend, support, or ignore unethical conduct perpetrated by colleagues, peers or students.

(c)   The Board adopts the following as an addition to the code of ethics: Administrators have a fiduciary duty to the facility and cannot serve as guardian of the person or of the estate, or hold a durable power of attorney or power of attorney for any resident of a facility of which they are an administrator.

(d)   Licensees shall place a copy of the Administrator Code of Ethics approved by the Board in a conspicuous location in a public area in the place of business requiring such license.

[Source: Amended and renumbered from 490:10-1-8 at 24 Ok Reg 1608, eff 7-1-07; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2707, eff 7-25-09; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1334, eff 7-1-12; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1856, eff 9-11-17]