AHCA Rule Changes Go Into Effect Today for Senior Housing Operators [Gray Area of the Law]
August 16, 2021
Shareholder John Ruffier discusses new AHCA rules that go into effect for senior housing operators and what they need to know to stay in compliance.
This article is informational only. You should consult an attorney before acting or failing to act. The law may change rapidly and no warranty is given. LOWNDES DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL ARTICLES ARE PROVIDED AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS. Consult a Lowndes attorney if you wish to establish an attorney/client relationship.
Courtesy of our friends at the Florida Senior Living Association:
Today, August 16, 2021, AHCA’s Final Adopted Version of Rules 59A-36.007 .008, & .028, F.A.C., which implement HB 767 (2020) are effective. These rules revolve around the topics of resident care standards (e.g., third-party services, assistive devices, physical restraints, and infection control procedures), medication practices, and ALF minimum core training curriculum requirements.
What You Need To Know: Changes to the three rules being amended include:
Rule 59A-36.007: Resident Care Standards
Third-Party Services:
- Requires the ALF administrator or designee must ensure that: (1) care coordination includes documented communications about the resident’s condition and response to treatment or services ordered by the physician which may impact the resident’s appropriateness for continued residency in the ALF; (2) communications occur at least once every 30 days and whenever there is a significant change in the resident’s condition; and (3) if physician ordered treatments or services occur less often than once a month, communications must be conducted according to the ordered treatment or service schedule and whenever there is a significant change in the resident’s condition.
- Requires an ALF to document at least two attempts at communication on two separate days when communication to a third-party provider is unsuccessful.
Assistive Devices:
- Requires assistive devices to be added to an ALF’s policies, rules and procedures, including the requirements and methods for assessing the physical condition of the assistive devices that may injure the resident and procedures for recommending repair or replacement for the continuing safety of a resident’s assistive device.
- Requires ALFs to be responsible for ensuring the safe usage of a resident’s assistive devices.
- Requires documentation of each assistive device a resident uses to be included in the resident’s record.
- Requires direct care staff using assistive devices while rendering personal services to residents to know how to operate and utilize the equipment.
- Requires all assistive devices to be clean, in good repair, and free of hazards.
- Requires ALFs to encourage and allow the resident to function with independence when using the assistive device.
This is an excerpt from a blog post originally written on Gray Area of the Law. To read the entire post, click here.
This article is informational only. You should consult an attorney before acting or failing to act. The law may change rapidly and no warranty is given. LOWNDES DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL ARTICLES ARE PROVIDED AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS. Consult a Lowndes attorney if you wish to establish an attorney/client relationship.
