Utah

What is it called?

• Assisted Living Facilities

What services are provided?

• Type I Assisted Living Facilities provide assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and social care to two or more residents who are capable of achieving mobility sufficient to exit the facility without the assistance of another person.
• Type II Assisted Living Facilities are home-like and provide an array of 24 hour coordinated supportive personal and health care services to residents capable of achieving mobility sufficient to evacuate the facility with the assistance of one person.

Who can be admitted?

• Residents in a Type I facility must meet the following criteria before being admitted:
• Be ambulatory or mobile and capable of taking life-saving action in an emergency;
• Have stable health
• Require no assistance or only limited assistance from staff with ADLs; and
• Require and receive regular or intermittent care or treatment in the facility from a licensed health professional.

Who is inappropriate?          

• Type I facilities must not accept or retain persons who require significant assistance during the night; are unable to take life-saving action in an emergency without assistance; and require close supervision and a controlled environment.

• Both Type I and II facilities must not admit or retain persons who:
• 1) Manifest behavior that is a danger to self or others;
• 2) Have active tuberculosis or other communicable diseases; or
• 3) Require inpatient hospital or nursing care.
• Type II facilities may accept or retain residents who require significant assistance in more than two ADLs. Residents admitted to a Type II facility must not be “dependent.”
• For both Type I and Type II facilities, a resident may be discharged, transferred, or evicted if the facility is no longer able to meet the needs of the resident; the resident fails to pay for services as required by the admission agreement; and/or, the resident fails to comply with policies or rules.

What training is required for direct care staff?

• Facilities must employ an administrator. Direct care staff are required on site 24 hours per day to meet resident needs as determined by assessments and service plans.
• All staff must complete orientation to include job descriptions; ethics, confidentiality, and resident rights; fire and disaster plan; policies and procedures; and report responsibility for abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Staff must also complete extensive in service training.

Is nurse staffing required?

·        Personnel providing personal care to residents in a Type II facility must be certified nurse aides or complete a state-certified nurse aide program within four months of the date of hire. At least one certified nurse aide must be on duty at all times.

·        A Type I facility must employ or contract with a registered nurse to provide or delegate medication administration. A Type II facility must employ or contract with a registered nurse to provide or supervise nursing services including assessments, health monitoring, and routine nurse tasks, including those tasks that may be delegated to unlicensed facility staff members.

·         A Type II facility with an approved secure unit must have at all times at least one staff member with documented training in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Is there any public payment available?

• Five types of Medicaid home and community-based services waivers are utilized for assisted living facilities, including aging, acquired brain injury, mental retardation and related conditions, physical disabilities, and technologically dependent / medically fragile waivers. A state-operated program also covers some personal care services and includes elderly beneficiaries in urban areas.

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