Administrator; duties and qualifications; responsibilities.

(1) The director shall appoint an administrator who shall be responsible for the overall operation of the home and the care of the residents.

(2) The administrator shall have the power to determine the eligibility and admission of applicants to the home in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and, together with the director, shall adopt all rules necessary for the preservation of order and enforcement of discipline in the home. All rules governing the home shall conform as nearly as possible to the rules and regulations for comparable facilities of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

(3) The administrator position shall be assigned to the Selected Exempt Service under part V of chapter 110. The director shall give veterans’ preference in selecting an administrator, as provided in ss. 295.07 and 295.085. In addition, the administrator must have at least a 4-year degree from an accredited university or college and 3 years of administrative experience in a health care facility, or any equivalent combination of experience, training, and education totaling 7 years in work relating to administration of a health care facility.

(4) All employees who fill authorized and established positions appropriated for the home shall be state employees. The department shall classify such employees in the manner prescribed in chapter 110.

(5)(a) The administrator shall administer and enforce all rules of the home, including rules of discipline, and may dismiss any resident of the home for any infraction of the rules, subject to the approval of the director.

(b) When the administrator determines that a resident has caused physical damage to the home, he or she shall determine the cost of repairs and take action to recover such sum from the resident who caused the damage. The administrator shall recover the sum by increasing the resident’s monthly copayment, holding funds of the resident that are on deposit in the Residents’ Deposits Trust Fund, or holding personal property of the resident which is held by the administrator for safekeeping pursuant to s. 296.14.

(6) The administrator may require residents of the home to render such assistance in the care of the home and grounds as their physical condition will permit and may compensate a resident for such assistance.