New laws in Delaware aim to increase accountability and improve regulatory standards in assisted living communities and nursing homes.
State Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos (D-Newport) and Rep. Kendra Johnson (D-Bear) introduced the package of legislation in February in an effort to strengthen the state’s long-term care system. Gov. John Carney (D) signed the bills last week.
Delaware Health Care Facilities Association Executive Director Cheryl Heiks said conversations among stakeholders — including industry representatives — proved fruitful and led to a consensus on several issues. Heiks told McKnight’s Senior Living that the association included multiple perspectives from members in its responses to the legislation, which she called “crucial” to influencing the final versions of the bills.
Assisted living is an increasingly popular choice for individuals and families, she said, adding that providing information to help consumers make better-informed decisions about long-term care was part of the focus of the legislation.
LeadingAge New Jersey & Delaware President and CEO James McCracken was part of a small group in attendance when Carney signed the bills, which he said would bring “meaningful reform” to the industry.
“Providers, industry advocates and association feedback on the drafted bills were taken into consideration, and our input was incorporated into the final drafts,” McCracken told McKnight’s Senior Living. “No bill is perfect, but scores of hours went into drafting these bills. We hope that the final product will lead to a positive impact for long-term care residents.”
House Substitute 2 for HB 300 allows assisted living communities to maintain accreditation from an independent organization. It also requires assisted living communities that provide dementia care services to maintain certification to provide that type of care. In addition, the bill defines memory care services and secured memory care units.
Heiks said that the original bill did not consider the variety of assisted living communities operating in the state and would have required Joint Commission accreditation, which would have been “resource and financially intensive,” with costs passed on to residents.
“We wholeheartedly support individual facilities voluntarily pursuing strategic and quality improvement processes that meet the needs of their organization, residents and communities,” Heiks added, however.
Referencing measures tied to dementia care services, Heiks said that assisted living settings work to adapt to the needs of their residents.
“With a growing population of individuals in need of services for dementia, developing a standard of dementia care education was one of the major outcomes of the legislation,” Heiks said. “Since providers already offer a variety of well-regarded programs in dementia education, it was important that any legislation allow for that training to be evaluated and, if appropriate, count toward the requirements.”
Conversations about the bill make it “obvious” that all caregivers and health professionals should receive dementia care training regardless of the setting in which an older adult receives care, Heiks said.
SB 216 doubles the civil penalties for violations of long-term care regulations. The law increases the maximum penalty for violations posing a serious threat to resident health and safety from $10,00 to $20,000, while maximum penalties for violations that do not pose a serious threat increase from $5,000 to $10,000.
SB 215, effective Oct. 30, requires the Department of Health and Social Services to conduct annual in-person inspections of the state’s 80 long-term care facilities.
Another bill heading to Carney’s desk would increase oversight of temporary nursing and staffing agencies. HB 204 would allow the state Department of Health and Social Services to adopt regulations related to the operation of temporary staffing agencies for long-term care facilities.
The bill would require temporary staffing agencies to register annually with the state Division of Health Care Quality, validate the qualifications of all staff, maintain records of all provided staff credentials, job requirements and required immunizations. The bill also requires temporary staffing agencies to report annually on employee placements, charges to long-term care facilities and wages paid to temporary staff.
