By Bob Katzen
Gov. Healey signed into law a bill making changes to the state’s long term care and assisted living industry that supporters said will make sweeping reforms to these two industries and will take a powerful step toward delivering high quality and safe care for older residents across the state.
“In Massachusetts, we are committed to making sure our aging residents and their loved ones can trust that they are receiving the highest quality of care from qualified staff at their long-term care or assisted living facilities,” said Gov. Healey. “This bill helps to provide them with that peace of mind, while also ensuring our hardworking providers have the resources and support they need to succeed in this important career. We are also proud to be enhancing protections for older LGBTQ+ residents to ensure they receive the specialized care they need free from discrimination.”
The bill includes provisions related to basic health services administered in assisted living facilities and oversight of long-term care facilities, including creation of a program for the certification, training and oversight of certified medication aides who would be authorized to administer medications to residents of long-term care facilities; several new initiatives to recruit and retain a dedicated long-term care workforce; allowing assisted living residences to offer basic health services such as helping a resident administer drops, manage their oxygen or take a home diagnostic test; giving the Executive Office of Elder Affairs new powers to penalize non-compliance by allowing it to fine assisted living residences up to $500 per day; and authorizing the attorney general to file a civil action against a person who commits abuse, mistreatment or neglect of a patient or resident.
Other provisions allow the Department of Public Health (DPH) to limit, restrict or revoke a long-term care facility’s license for cause, such as substantial or sustained failure to provide adequate care, substantial or sustained failure to comply with laws or regulations or lack of financial capacity to operate a facility; streamline the process for small house nursing homes to be licensed; direct DPH to establish and implement training and education programs on topics such as infection prevention and control, resident care plans and staff safety programs; and require long-term care facilities to develop individualized outbreak response plans to contain the spread of disease and ensure consistent communication with DPH, residents, families, and staff.
The measure also would require each long-term care facility to provide staff training on the rights and care of LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV; forbid any long-term care facility and its staff from discriminating based in whole or in part on a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, intersex status or HIV status, whether through the denial of admission, medical or non-medical care, access to restrooms or through room assignments.