Assisted Living Facility Requirements

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(a) An individual must meet the following minimum criteria in order to be admitted to a facility holding a standard license:Be at least 18 years of age.

• Be free from signs and symptoms of any communicable disease that is likely to be transmitted to other residents or staff. An individual who has human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may be admitted to a facility, provided that the individual would otherwise be eligible for admission according to this rule.
• Be able to perform the activities of daily living, with supervision or assistance if necessary.
• Be able to transfer, with assistance if necessary. The assistance of more than one person is permitted.
• Be capable of taking medication, by self-administration
• Not have any special dietary needs that cannot be met by the facility.
• Not be a danger to self or others as determined by a health care practitioner, or a mental health practitioner licensed under Chapter 490 or 491, F.S.
• Not require 24-hour licensed professional mental health treatment.
• Not be bedridden, unless the resident is receiving licensed hospice services pursuant to Section 429.26(1)(c), F.S.;
• Not have any stage 3 or 4 pressure sores. A resident requiring care of a stage 2 pressure sore may be admitted provided that:
• The resident either:

I) Resides in a standard or limited nursing services licensed facility and contracts directly with a licensed home health agency or a nurse to provide care; or

(II) Resides in a limited nursing services licensed facility and care is provided by the facility pursuant to a plan of care issued by a health care practitioner;

• The condition is documented in the resident’s record and admission and discharge logs; and,
• If the resident’s condition fails to improve within 30 days as documented by a health care practitioner, the resident must be discharged from the facility.
• Residents admitted to standard, limited nursing services, or limited mental health licensed facilities may not require any of the following nursing services:
• Artificial airway management of any kind, except that of continuous positive airway pressure may be provided through the use of a CPAP or bipap machine;
• Assistance with tube feeding,
• Monitoring of blood gases,
• Management of post-surgical drainage tubes and wound vacuum devices;
• The administration of blood products in the facility; or
• Treatment of surgical incisions or wounds, unless the surgical incision or wound and the underlying condition have been stabilized and a plan of care has been developed. The plan of care must be maintained in the resident’s record.
• In addition to the nursing services listed above, residents admitted to facilities holding only standard and/or limited mental health licenses may not require any of the following nursing services:
• Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis performed in the facility;
• Intravenous therapy performed in the facility.
• Not require 24-hour nursing supervision, unless the resident is receiving licensed hospice services pursuant to Section 429.26(1)(c), F.S.;
• Not require skilled rehabilitative services as described in Rule 59G-4.290, F.A.C.
• Be appropriate for admission to the facility as determined by the facility administrator. The administrator must base the determination on:
• An assessment of the strengths, needs, and preferences of the individual;
• The medical examination report required by Section 429.26, F.S.;
• The facility’s admission policy and the services the facility is prepared to provide or arrange in order to meet resident needs. Such services may not exceed the scope of the facility’s license unless specified elsewhere in this rule; and,
• The ability of the facility to meet the uniform fire safety standards for assisted living facilities established in rule Chapter 69A-40, F.A.C.

(b) A resident who otherwise meets the admission criteria for residency in a standard licensed facility, but who requires assistance with the administration and regulation of portable oxygen or assistance with routine colostomy care of stoma site flange placement, may be admitted to a facility with a standard license as long as the facility has a nurse on staff or under contract to provide the assistance or to provide training to the resident on how to perform these functions themselves.

(c) Nursing staff may not provide training to unlicensed persons, as defined in Section 429.256(1)(b), F.S., to perform skilled nursing services, and may not delegate the nursing services described in this section to certified nursing assistants or unlicensed persons. This provision does not restrict a resident or a resident’s representative from contracting with a licensed third party to provide the assistance if the facility is agreeable to such an arrangement and the resident otherwise meets the criteria for admission and continued residency in a facility with a standard license.

(d) Not withstanding any other provisions of this rule, an individual enrolled in and receiving licensed hospice services may be admitted to an assisted living facility pursuant to Section 429.26(1)(d), F.S.