SB708: Assisted living facilities; self-administration of medications by residents.

SENATE BILL NO. 708

Offered January 9, 2013
Prefiled November 28, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact 63.2-1732 of the Code of Virginia, relating to assisted living facilities; self-administration of medications.
Patron-- Hanger

Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That  63.2-1732 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

63.2-1732. Regulations for assisted living facilities.

A. The Board shall have the authority to adopt and enforce regulations to carry out the provisions of this subtitle and to protect the health, safety, welfare and individual rights of residents of assisted living facilities and to promote their highest level of functioning. Such regulations shall take into consideration cost constraints of smaller operations in complying with such regulations and shall provide a procedure whereby a licensee or applicant may request, and the Commissioner may grant, an allowable variance to a regulation pursuant to 63.2-1703.

B. Regulations shall include standards for staff qualifications and training; facility design, functional design and equipment; services to be provided to residents; administration of medicine; allowable medical conditions for which care can be provided; and medical procedures to be followed by staff, including provisions for physicians' services, restorative care, and specialized rehabilitative services. The Board shall adopt regulations on qualifications and training for employees of an assisted living facility in a direct care position. "Direct care position" means supervisors, assistants, aides, or other employees of a facility who assist residents in their daily living activities.

C. Regulations for administration of medications to residents of a licensed assisted living facility and a Medication Management Plan in a licensed assisted living facility shall be developed by the Board, in consultation with the Board of Nursing and the Board of Pharmacy. Such regulations shall (i) establish the elements to be contained within a Medication Management Plan, including a demonstrated understanding of the responsibilities associated with medication management by the facility; standard operating and record-keeping procedures; staff qualifications, training and supervision; documentation of daily medication administration; and internal monitoring of plan conformance by the facility; (ii) include a requirement that each assisted living facility shall establish and maintain a written Medication Management Plan that has been approved by the Department; and (iii) provide that a facility's failure to conform to any approved Medication Management Plan shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in 63.2-1709 or 63.2-1709.2; and (iv) provide that a resident for whom the uniform assessment required pursuant to 63.2-1804 indicates that he is capable of self-administering medications may store medications that would normally be self-administered in a secure place in his room, may self-administer such medications if he so chooses, and shall not be required to allow the facility to store or administer such medications or to pay any cost associated with the storage and administration of such medications. In cases in which a resident who is able to self-administer medications chooses not to self-administer his medications, such medications shall be stored and administered in compliance with the facility's Medication Management Plan.

D. Regulations shall require all licensed assisted living facilities with six or more residents to be able to connect by July 1, 2007, to a temporary emergency electrical power source for the provision of electricity during an interruption of the normal electric power supply. The installation shall be in compliance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code.

E. Regulations for medical procedures in assisted living facilities shall be developed in consultation with the State Board of Health and adopted by the Board, and compliance with these regulations shall be determined by Department of Health or Department inspectors as provided by an interagency agreement between the Department and the Department of Health.

F. In developing regulations to determine the number of assisted living facilities for which an assisted living facility administrator may serve as administrator of record, the Board shall consider (i) the number of residents in each of the facilities, (ii) the travel time between each of the facilities, and (iii) the qualifications of the on-site manager under the supervision of the administrator of record.

G. Regulations shall require that each assisted living facility register with the Department of State Police to receive notice of the registration or reregistration of any sex offender within the same or a contiguous zip code area in which the facility is located, pursuant to 9.1-914.

H. Regulations shall require that each assisted living facility ascertain, prior to admission, whether a potential resident is a registered sex offender, if the facility anticipates the potential resident will have a length of stay greater than three days or in fact stays longer than three days.