HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 269        FILED ON: 1/13/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 535

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

RoseLee Vincent

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to assisted living residences.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 269        FILED ON: 1/13/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 535

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act relative to assisted living residences.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 5 of said chapter 19D, as so appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the fourth sentence the following:-

The department shall provide through its certification unit annual training for assisted living residences on the recertification and review process.  This training shall include, but not be limited to, the department’s interpretation of the general laws, regulations, procedures, and policies concerning the review process.  The review process shall be interactive, with the sharing of information and recommendations between the assisted living residence and the department.  The department shall notify assisted living residences of proposed policy changes and seek comment from assisted living residences before instituting a policy change concerning the regulations and review process.

SECTION 2. Section 7 of said chapter 19D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:-

The program in conjunction with assisted living residences, shall establish clear and consistent protocols for collecting and gathering of information in order to better evaluate trends in assisted living operations.  The program shall exchange this information with assisted living residence providers on a biannual basis. 

SECTION 3. Section 15 of said chapter 19D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

(c) There shall be a required 4 hours of general orientation training per year devoted to the topic of dementia and cognitive impairments for all assisted living employees.   Assisted living residences shall have 60 days from the start of employment to satisfy the general orientation training for each employee.  There shall be a required 4 hours per year of ongoing education and training on the specialized needs of residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia for all assisted living employees.  

SECTION 4. Section 15 of said chapter 19D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(d) Notwithstanding regulations promulgated by the department, employees with the required general orientation training as required by the department shall be transferable for each employee from one residence to another.  Transferability of required training shall not apply to company-specific training or building-specific safety training.