  
  
     |
North Dakota Long Term Care Association Issue Briefs 2003 Assisted
Living in In 2001, the
legislature passed a law requiring all entities that meet the definition
of assisted living or hold themselves out to provide assisted living
services to register with the North Dakota Department of Human Services.
Today thirty-four assisted living facilities are registered. In 2003, legislation
– HB 1164, has been introduced to discontinue the registration process
and replace it with a licensure process.
The licensure process would be a paper compliance process.
The assisted living facility would be required to submit an annual
application to the DHSs. The
assisted living facility would through self-disclosure state they meet all
licensing requirements. The
DHS would issue the licensure without an onsite inspection.
The assisted living facility must pay an annual licensure fee of
$75. During the 2001
legislative session, the Department of Health was given the authority to
license and inspect assisted living facilities, this authority would
continue. In HB 1160 the
obsolete term “boardinghouse” would be replace with assisted living
facility. The Health
Department, Division of Food and Lodging would continue to charge a $75
licensure fee. They would
conduct an inspection of the food services preparation area and fire life
safety provisions. Each
assisted living facility will be inspected at least once every two years. Highlights of HB 1164 Creation of a new
chapter to regulate assisted living facilities. Ø
Chapter 50-32 of the North
Dakota Century Code would be created for assisted living. Ø
In this new chapter assisted
living facility (ALF) means a building or structure containing a series of
living units operated as one entity to provide services for five or more
individuals who are not related by blood, marriage, or guardianship to the
owner or manager of the entity and which is kept, used, maintained,
advertised, or held out to the public as a place that provides or
coordinates individualized support services to accommodate the
individual’s needs and abilities to maintain as much independence as
possible. Ø
An ALF may provide or
coordinate individualized support services.
Individualized support services means services provided to
individuals who may require assistance with the activities of daily living
of bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, eating, medication
management, and personal hygiene. Ø
In addition to
individualized support services, an ALF may provide home care services to
tenants living within their facility.
Home care services means services provided to maintain an
individual’s health such as medication administration, blood pressure
monitoring, weight monitoring, overall health assessment, and any other
non-skilled service designed to maintain or promote health. Ø
The Department is given
authority to establish a method of receiving complaints related to ALF and
to forward the complaints to the appropriate agency for investigation. Ø
The Department is given
authority to establish rules governing the licensing of ALF and to
regulate the application for, approval, denial, revocation, and
requirements of a license. Ø
The Department may assess a fine of up to
fifty dollars per day against a business that provides assisted living
services or uses the term assisted living in is marketing without a
license. The Department must
notify the business of non-compliance and provide a grace period of 59
days prior to the levying of a fine. Ø Religious orders providing individualized support services to vowed members residing in the order’s retirement housing are not subject to assisted living licensure or regulation. Back
to the NDLTCA Issue Briefs 2003 Table of Contents Copyright © 2003 North Dakota Long Term Care
Association. All rights reserved. |