(a) The Department of Human Services shall not issue or renew a license of a nursing facility unless that facility employs the direct-care staff needed to provide continuous twenty-four-hour nursing care and service to meet the needs of each resident of the nursing facility and the staffing standards required by all state rules and federal regulations.
(b)
(1) Except for nursing facilities that the Office of Long-Term Care designates or certifies as Eden Alternative nursing facilities or Green House Project nursing facilities, the staffing standard required by this subchapter shall be the minimum number of direct-care staff required by nursing facilities and shall be adjusted upward to meet the care needs of residents.
(2)
(A) The office shall promulgate staffing standards for nursing facilities that the office designates or certifies as Eden Alternative nursing facilities or Green House Project nursing facilities.
(B) The department may develop a reimbursement methodology or amend the reimbursement methodology in existence as of July 31, 2007, to provide payment for staff that provides services or care to residents in the designated or certified Eden Alternative nursing facilities or Green House Project nursing facilities.
(c) If a facility varies shift hours from the shift hours listed in § 20-10-1401, the facility shall meet the staffing requirements for the shift listed in § 20-10-1403.