Residents of assisted living homes would receive significant new protections under rules proposed by Massachusetts regulators — changes aimed at closing gaps that threatened elders’ safety. Under the strengthened regulations, assisted living residences would be prohibited from accepting residents so frail they need months of skilled nursing care. The rules also call for expanded training for workers, and require detailed emergency evacuation plans, including enough equipment and medicine if extreme weather threatens. Many elders who once would have moved to nursing homes when their health declined are instead choosing to remain in assisted living, often because the cost is significantly less than for nursing homes. As a result, the populations in these loosely regulated, apartment-like facilities have been profoundly transformed, with a growing segment of residents who are increasingly frail. Today, roughly 14,000 people in Massachusetts dwell in about 225 assisted living residences. Elder advocates have long lobbied state regulators to update the rules governing those residences, saying that guidelines to protect residents have not kept pace and have not been updated since 2006. Ann Hartstein, secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, said the changes should enhance residents’ safety. The agency, which is charged with overseeing assisted living residences, worked on the updates for close to a year and a half.
For additional information, click the following link to the recent Boston Globe article found here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/massachusetts/2014/11/22/proposed-new-rules-aimed-better-protecting-elders-massachusetts-assisted-living-residences/4VrZIyGNIMHOZWKYpQ2I0O/story.html?p1=Article_InThisSection_Bottom
Sincerely,
Eric R. Oalican