Chapter
380
2003 -- H 6473 AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/23/03
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY
Introduced By:
Representatives Menard, Moran, Lima, Giannini, and Winfield
Date
Introduced: May 28, 2003
It is enacted by the General Assembly
as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 23-17.4-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-17.4 entitled
"Assisted Living Residence
Licensing Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-17.4-2.
Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Activities of daily living (ADLs)" means bathing, dressing, eating,
toileting,
mobility and transfer.
(2)
"Administrator" means any person who has responsibility for day to
day
administration or operation of an
assisted living residence.
(3)
"Alzheimer's dementia special care unit or program" means a distinct
living
environment within an assisted
living residence that has been physically adapted to accommodate
the particular needs and behaviors
of those with dementia. The unit provides increased staffing,
therapeutic activities designed
specifically for those with dementia and trains its staff on an
ongoing basis on the effective
management of the physical and behavioral problems of those with
dementia. The residents of the unit
or program have had a standard medical diagnostic evaluation
and have been determined to have a
diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia or another dementia.
(4)
"Assisted living residence" means a publicly or privately operated
residence that
provides directly or indirectly by
means of contracts or arrangements personal assistance to meet
the resident's changing needs and
preferences, lodging, and meals to two (2) or more adults who
are unrelated to the licensee or
administrator, excluding however, any privately operated
establishment or facility licensed
pursuant to chapter 17 of this title, and those facilities licensed
by or under the jurisdiction of the
department of mental health, retardation, and hospitals, the
department of children, youth, and
families, or any other state agency. "Assisted living residence"
also excludes any privately
operated establishment and/or facility which provides housing and
assistance for persons with
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and/or Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and
which has, prior to September 1, 1994, been determined by
the director and/or the
director's designee to not be a residential living and/or assisted living
facility or residence. The department shall develop levels of licensure for
assisted living
residences within this definition
as provided in section 23-17.4-6. Assisted living residences
include sheltered care homes, and
board and care residences or any other entity by any other
name providing the services listed
in this subdivision which meet the definition of assisted living
residences.
(5)
"Capable of self-preservation" means the physical mobility and
judgmental ability of
the individual to take appropriate
action in emergency situations. Residents not capable of self-
preservation are limited to
facilities that meet more stringent life safety code requirements as
provided under section
23-17.4-6(b)(3).
(6)
"Director" means the director of the Rhode Island department of
health.
(7)
"Licensing agency" means the Rhode Island department of health.
(8)
"Personal assistance" means the provision of one or more of the
following services,
as required by the resident or as
reasonably requested by the resident, on a scheduled or
unscheduled basis, including:
(i)
Assisting the resident with personal needs including activities of daily
living;
(ii)
Assisting the resident with self-administration of medication or administration
of
medications by appropriately
licensed staff;
(iii)
Providing or assisting the resident in arranging for health and supportive
services as
may be reasonably required;
(iv)
Monitoring the activities of the resident while on the premises of the
residence to
ensure his or her health, safety,
and well-being; and
(v)
Reasonable recreational, social and personal services.
(9)
"Resident" means an individual not requiring medical or nursing care
as provided in
a health care facility but who as a
result of choice and/or physical or mental limitation requires
personal assistance, lodging and
meals and may require the administration of medication. A
resident must be capable of
self-preservation in emergency situations, unless the facility meets a
more stringent life safety code as
required under section 23-17.4-6(b)(3). Persons needing
medical or skilled nursing care,
including daily professional observation and evaluation, as
provided in a health care facility,
and/or persons who are bedbound or in need of the assistance of
more than one person for
ambulation, are not appropriate to reside in assisted living residences.
However, an established resident
may receive daily skilled nursing care or therapy from a
licensed health care provider for a
condition that results from a temporary illness or injury for up
to twenty-one (21) days subject to
an extension of additional days as approved by the department,
or if the resident is under the
care of a licensed hospice agency provided the assisted living
residence assumes responsibility
for ensuring that the care is received. For purposes of this
statute, "resident" shall
also mean the resident's agent as designated in writing or legal guardian.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage and the amendments contained in
section 1 of this act shall be
repealed on March 31, 2004.
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LC03346
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