New York Gets Tough On Assisted Living Laws
By: Source: AARP Bulletin Today Date Posted: December 2004
After five years of debates and a series of heart-wrenching stories about residents in assisted living facilities who suffered and even died from neglect, AARP members helped persuade New York state legislators to pass one of the country’s most comprehensive assisted living laws.
The bill, signed into law in October, takes effect in February.
"Before this legislation, anyone in New York could put out a sign and say they were running an assisted living facility," says Bill Ferris, a senior legislative representative for AARP New York.
The lack of regulation in New York led to a string of tragedies. Several residents in assisted living died because of medication errors, and others, with dementia, died or were injured when they wandered away from their facility. The average age of a resident in assisted living is 85.
"AARP volunteers said they wanted change, they wanted protections," says Lois Aronstein, state director of AARP New York. "They helped wage an aggressive grassroots campaign for reform. And now we clearly have one of the strongest assisted living laws in the U.S."
Experts say AARP’s campaign in New York could be a model in other states that are struggling to protect residents in assisted living, more than half of whom have some form of dementia.
Federal and state laws regulate nursing homes, but there is no federal law governing assisted living homes, a popular type of housing for older Americans.
State laws vary widely—and while they may require licenses for these facilities, many don’t spell out what services assisted living homes must provide, as the New York law does.
"Thirty-six states now use the term assisted living in their laws," says DaCosta Mason, AARP’s national coordinator for state affairs on assisted living issues. "But it’s a hodgepodge, and many states are looking for ways to clarify what assisted living means, just what services these homes guarantee."
New York Gov. George E. Pataki, R, said the legislation, aside from helping families find appropriate care and protecting residents, will "hold operators of facilities accountable for the services they provide."
Under the new law, all assisted living facilities must be licensed by state health officials. And the law defines a range of assisted living options: The most basic is housing for people who need help with personal tasks such as bathing, dressing and managing medications but who are not confined to bed or in need of round-the-clock nursing care.
Facilities that want to accept people who may need 24-hour care or are incontinent, unable to walk without assistance or depend on medical equipment must apply for another certificate that authorizes them to offer "enhanced assisted living." Homes for dementia patients must have another special certificate.
The new law requires an assisted living home to give each resident an individual service plan—updated at least every six months—that spells out what will be provided, how and by whom. And it must use "plain language" contracts that fully disclose services, fees and policies.
State health officials will inspect the residences every 18 months, imposing heavy fines for violations.
"This law is an important step because it makes clear that assisted living is a regulated form of housing, not just a selling or marketing label," says AARP’s Mason.
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