The Texas Health and Human Services Commission takes the qualifications of management staff in an Assisted Living Facility very seriously, as they should. Management staff in the ALF are ultimately the employees who must uphold the high quality of professionalism that residents have come to expect. Check out the following regulation provided by the HHSC as to the qualifications and training your community management must adhere to:
RULE 553.41 Standards for Type A and Type B Assisted Living Facilities
Manager Qualifications
(a) Employees.
(1) Manager. Each facility must designate, in writing, a manager to have authority over the operation.
(A) Qualifications. In small facilities, the manager must have proof of graduation from an accredited high school or certification of equivalency of graduation. In large facilities, a manager must have:
(i) an associate’s degree in nursing, health care management, or a related field;
(ii) a bachelor’s degree; or
(iii) proof of graduation from an accredited high school or certification of equivalency of graduation and at least one year of experience working in management or in health care industry management.
(B) Training in management of assisted living facilities. After August 1, 2000, a manager must have completed at least one educational course on the management of assisted living facilities, which must include information on the assisted living standards; resident characteristics (including dementia), resident assessment and skills working with residents; basic principles of management; food and nutrition services; federal laws, with an emphasis on the Americans with Disability Act’s accessibility requirements; community resources; ethics, and financial management.
(i) The course must be at least 24 hours in length.
(I) Eight hours of training on the assisted living standards must be completed within the first three months of employment.
(II) The 24-hour training requirement may not be met through in-services at the facility but may be met through structured, formalized classes, correspondence courses, training videos, distance learning programs, or off-site training courses. All training must be provided or produced by academic institutions, assisted living corporations, or recognized state or national organizations or associations. The subject matter that deals with the internal affairs of an organization will not qualify for credit.
(III) Evidence of training must be on file at the facility and must contain documentation of content, hours, dates, and provider.
(ii) Managers hired after August 1, 2000, who can show documentation of a previously completed comparable course of study are exempt from the training requirements.
(iii) Managers hired after August 1, 2000, must complete the course by the first anniversary of employment as manager.
(iv) An assisted living manager who was employed by a licensed assisted living facility on August 1, 2000, is exempt from the training requirement. An assisted living manager who was employed by a licensed assisted living facility as the manager before August 1, 2000, and changes employment to another licensed assisted living facility as the manager, with a break in employment of no longer than 30 days, is also exempt from the training requirement.
(C) Continuing education. All managers must show evidence of 12 hours of annual continuing education. This requirement will be met during the first year of employment by the 24-hour assisted living management course. The annual continuing education requirement must include at least two of the following areas:
(i) resident and provider rights and responsibilities, abuse/neglect, and confidentiality;
(ii) basic principles of management;
(iii) skills for working with residents, families, and other professional service providers;
(iv) resident characteristics and needs;
(v) community resources;
(vi) accounting and budgeting;
(vii) basic emergency first aid; or
(viii) federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Rehabilitation Act of 1993, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, and the Fair Housing Act.
(D) Manager’s responsibilities. The manager must be on duty 40 hours per week and may manage only one facility, except for managers of small Type A facilities, who may have responsibility for no more than 16 residents in no more than four facilities. The managers of small Type A facilities must be available by telephone or pager when conducting facility business off-site.
(E) Manager’s absence. An employee competent and authorized to act in the absence of the manager must be designated in writing.
(2) Attendants. Full-time facility attendants must be at least 18 years old or a high-school graduate.
(A) An attendant must be in the facility at all times when residents are in the facility.
(B) Attendants are not precluded from performing other functions as required by the assisted living facility.
Top Takeaways:
- (C) Continuing education. All managers must show evidence of 12 hours of annual continuing education. This requirement will be met during the first year of employment by the 24-hour assisted living management course. The annual continuing education requirement must include at least two of the following areas: i-viii
Many managers forget this important step of ensuring they are in compliance with continuing education. It is recommended to start a file for all your continuing education certificates for easy access when surveyors request it and so you can easily keep track of the hours you need to
complete.
- When the administrator is not able to be present in the community it is imperative to have someone in charge during your absence. You must have this written as a policy. For instance, “In the absence, the Director of Nursing is responsible for all administrative responsibilities of the facility.”