Sec. 247.026.  STANDARDS.  (a)  The executive commissioner by rule shall prescribe minimum standards to protect the health and safety of an assisted living facility resident.
(b)  The standards must:
(1)  clearly differentiate an assisted living facility from an institution required to be licensed under Chapter 242;
(2)  ensure quality care and protection of the residents' health and safety without excessive cost;
(3)  ensure that the daily nutritional and special dietary needs of each resident are met;  and
(4)  require an assisted living facility to:
(A)  use its license number or a state-issued facility identification number in all advertisements, solicitations, and promotional materials;  and
(B)  provide each prospective resident or prospective resident's representative, as appropriate, with a consumer disclosure statement in a standard form adopted by the department.
(c)  The executive commissioner shall require an assisted living facility that provides brain injury rehabilitation services to include in the facility's consumer disclosure statement a specific statement that licensure as an assisted living facility does not indicate state review, approval, or endorsement of the facility's rehabilitation services.
(c-1)  The executive commissioner shall require each assisted living facility to include in the facility's consumer disclosure statement whether the facility holds a license classified under Section 247.029 for the provision of personal care services to residents with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders.
(d)  The executive commissioner may prescribe different levels of minimum standards for assisted living facilities according to the number of residents, the type of residents, the level of personal care provided, the nutritional needs of residents, and other distinctions the executive commissioner considers relevant.  If the executive commissioner does not prescribe minimum standards for facilities serving non-geriatric residents, the executive commissioner must develop procedures for consideration and approval of alternate methods of compliance by such facilities with the department's standards.
(e)  Local health and safety standards adopted by the municipality in which an assisted living facility is located do not apply to the facility unless the standards specifically state that they apply to assisted living facilities.
(f)  The executive commissioner by rule shall prescribe minimum standards requiring appropriate training in geriatric care for each individual who provides services to geriatric residents as an employee of an assisted living facility and who holds a license or certificate issued by an agency of this state that authorizes the person to provide the services.  The minimum standards may require that each licensed or certified individual complete an appropriate program of continuing education or in-service training, as determined by department rule, on a schedule determined by department rule.
(g)  Any individual otherwise qualified, who has been employed by a licensed assisted living facility for at least 90 days, shall be eligible to be certified as a medication aide following completion of the required course of study and successful completion of any required examination.
(h)  An individual may not serve as the manager of an assisted living facility that has 17 beds or more unless the individual:
(1)  has an associate's degree in nursing, health care management, or a related field from a public or private institution of higher education;
(2)  has a bachelor's degree from a public or private institution of higher education;  or
(3)  has at least one year of experience working in management or in the health care industry.
(i)  The executive commissioner by rule shall require each manager of an assisted living facility that has 17 beds or more to complete at least one educational course on the management of assisted living facilities not later than the first anniversary of the date the manager begins employment in that capacity.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 114, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 637, art. 2, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 542, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 583, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 28, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 31.01(57), eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 416, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 233, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 734, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by: 
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0706, eff. April 2, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1256 (H.B. 2588), Sec. 3, eff. June 20, 2015.