Assisted Living Executive - November/December 2007

and the third in 2005. “All of them went a long;way;toward;establishing;a;better;set;of guidelines;for;caring;for;people;who;had more;acute;health;needs,”;he;says.

“The;reason;the;regulations;that;came about;in;2005;weren’t;sufficient;was;that legislators;and;regulators;were;concerned that;assisted;living;was;not;defined;in;law,” he;adds,;which;led;to;the;introduction;of biannual;bills;that;attempted;to;define;as-sisted;living;in;law;and;license;it;as;well.

Leader;and;his;colleagues;in;Pennsylva-nia;now;find;themselves;in;a;position;simi-lar;to;the;one;in;which;New;York;assisted living;executives;found;themselves;after;that state;passed;legislation;in;2004.;“There;is;a set;standard;for;how;this;plays;out,”;Leader says.;“Legislation;is;passed,;the;state;regu-latory;agency— in;our;case,;the;state;De-partment;of;Public;Welfare—consults;with providers;to;draft;regulations;and;then;pub-lishes;a;draft;set;of;regulations;and;asks;for comment.;There;may;be;some;hearings;in the;legislature;and;then;a;hearing;before;the Independent;Regulatory;Review;Commis-sion.;If;it;clears;those;hurdles,;it;becomes regulation.

“We’ve;cleared;one;important;hurdle, but;many;more;are;left,”;says;Leader,;who suggests;the;process;won’t;come;to;a;close for;at;least;a;year.;But;like;Hodes,;he’s pleased;with;progress;thus;far.;“Consider-ing;how;many;parties;and;professions;were involved;in;the;negotiations,;I;think;it;was;a very;good;outcome.”

Selling the Story

Barno;says;there’s;an;important;lesson providers;must;cull;from;this;regulatory revolution,;particularly;as;new;legislation continues;to;support;rising;acuity;levels;in assisted;living;communities:;“I;think;we;all have;to;do;a;better;job;of;getting;our;story out;about;this;issue,”;she;says.;“It;can’t come;from;us;or;the;providers,;though.;We have;to;get;seniors;to;tell;their;stories,;or have;families;talk;about;their;experiences with;assisted;living.

“We;all;get;letters;from;families;detailing how;much;they;love;their;mom;or;dad;living with;us,”;Barno;adds,;“but;we;never;tell;any-one;about;it;or;have;the;people;writing;us;tell others;about;it.;Most;providers;think;they’re just;doing;their;job;and;they;don’t;want;to brag.;But;these;are;the;people;who;have;to advocate;for;us.”;❏

bryan ochalla is a contributing writer to Assisted Living Executive. Reach him at bochalla@alfa.org.

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