Georgia capitol building
A bill that would make it possible for residents of Georgia’s assisted living facilities to continue living in these settings — even if they needed help with medications or were not ambulatory — cleared the Georgia State Senate on March 14.
The state’s House Health and Human Services Committee passed a similar bill on March 7.
Currently, Georgia licenses only two types of long-term care facilities — nursing homes and personal care homes.
In Georgia, assisted living facilities are designated as personal care homes. This means they can provide services such as meals; 24-hour supervision; help with bathing, dressing, and other daily activities; and supervision of self-administered medication. They cannot, however, provide medical or nursing services, which include assistance with taking medications.
When assisted living residents need help administering their medications or are deemed to be too immobile to manage in an emergency, they are required to move out — which usually means to a nursing home. (In some cases, a state waiver can be obtained, but reports say such waivers are rare.)
“We have heard from our members that residents in assisted living want the choice to age in place,” said Kathy Floyd, associate director for advocacy at AARP Georgia, a proponent of the bill. “This legislation will give that choice and protect residents’ safety.”
Assisted Living Facilities Could Employ Medication Aides
Should the proposed bill become law, assisted living facilities will be permitted to employ medication aides who could administer certain medications to the residents, in accordance with the Georgia Department of Community Health (GDCH) regulations.
“We’ve seen the medication aide position work well in other states and think that these aides could be a big help in Georgia,” Floyd said.
The bill lists numerous requirements for medication aides — for example, it states that they must be certified nurse aides.
It also says that the aides must have successfully completed a state-approved medication aide training program, the training requirements for which are outlined in the bill. GDCH must establish and maintain a medication aide registry should the bill become law.
To comply with the proposed law, the assisted living facilities must also have adequate staff to help residents with mobility problems manage in an emergency situation.
Advocates, including AARP Georgia and the Georgia Long-Term Care Ombudsman, have been working for the past 16 years to get the state to designate assisted living facilities as a licensed care level of their own. According to reports, the nursing home trade association supports the current bill but originally opposed it, saying they feared that it would pose a safety risk to residents who needed care.
Should the bill become law, assisted living facilities with at least 25 beds could become licensed long-term care facilities with a designation of their own. Georgia would join 22 other states that license assisted living facilities.
Advocates say they expect Governor Nathan Deal (R) to sign the bill into law.
– by Deane Beebe
