ATLANTA – Legislation has been filed to bolster regulations for assisted senior-living facilities, personal care homes and memory centers in Georgia.
Introduced on Friday, House Bill 987 aims to improve the quality of care for thousands of elderly persons in Georgia who are no longer able to live on their own.
Sponsored by Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, the bill would require at least one direct-care staff member for every 15 senior residents during waking hours, and one for every 20 residents at night.
It would also require a licensed or registered professional nurse to be on-site at assisted living facilities for a certain amount of time each week and require all staff to undergo training in elderly and disabled-adult care.
For facilities in financial strife, the bill would require a 60-day advance written notice of impending bankruptcy proceedings or property evictions, and a 14-day notice prior to ownership changes that could disrupt living arrangements.
Facility administrators would need to be newly licensed by a state board under the bill. Fines against facilities would be set at a minimum of $5,000 if a resident dies or is seriously injured.
The bill also includes a slate of rules to tighten staffing standards and training for memory care centers, which provide services for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive conditions.
The proposed rules aim to prevent neglect and maltreatment like what happened to DeKalb County retired teacher Peggy Lavender and her husband, Jim, who was diagnosed in 2014 with Alzheimer’s.
At a news conference Thursday, Lavender recounted how an assisted living facility unnecessarily sent her husband to a psychiatric ward without her knowledge, leading to “brief and horrific” treatment involving potent medications that left him “no longer able to walk, talk or even stand up on his own.”
“Georgians living with dementia need and deserve memory care that is high quality, safe and dementia-capable,” Lavender said.
Cooper, a registered nurse who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, framed the bill as a compromise measure between senior advocates and facility managers that balances client safety with concerns about overly stiff regulations.
“There are good homes and assisted living facilities across the state,” she said. “Unfortunately, the bad ones put everyone in a bad situation where we need to make corrections.”
Cooper’s legislation has already garnered some backing from assisted-living facility operators including Rep. John LaHood, who owns several facilities and is a co-sponsor of the bill.
LaHood, R-Valdosta, said Thursday that he expects “vigorous” debate over the bill as it moves through the General Assembly but agreed it should help improve senior facilities.
“We want to raise the minimum standards to help ensure that families’ expectations are met, that residents are getting the care they need and have a choice to age in place understanding what the risks are,” LaHood said. “I think this bill goes a long way to accomplishing that.”