Tallahassee, Fla. – FLORIDA ALFA (FL ALFA), the Florida chapter of the Assisted Living Federation of America, today heralded the signing of meaningful ALF reform legislation, sponsored by Senator Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood) and Representative Larry Ahern (R-Seminole), into law by Governor Rick Scott.
“With Governor Scott’s signature today, we are celebrating the final step in meaningful ALF reform legislation becoming law,” said Gail Matillo, president and CEO of FL ALFA. “This has been FL ALFA’s top priority since our inception, and we are elated that this important step has now been taken to better protect Florida’s seniors who reside in assisted living communities.”
Among the many good measures included in the legislation are provisions that would:
- Allow nurses, who work in an assisted living community with a limited nursing services specialty license, to practice to the full extent of their abilities within the scope of the community’s license;
- Expand the activities that a trained, unlicensed staff member can assist a resident with, such as the self-administration of medication, to avoid unnecessary trips to the doctor;
- Require that a community with one or more state-supported mental health residents obtain a limited mental health license; and
- Give the Agency for Health Care Administration the ability to focus on assisted living communities with a history of deficiencies.
“On behalf of FL ALFA, I extend a sincere thank you to Senator Sobel and Representative Ahern, who both recently won the coveted ALFA Statesman Award for their commitment to improving assisted living for our state’s seniors,” said Matillo. “We also thank Governor Rick Scott, who, not only signed this important legislation into law today, but also brought great attention to this topic with the formation of a task force that made numerous regulatory recommendations, many of which are embodied in the legislation the Governor signed today.”
“FL ALFA is committed to continually improving assisted living in the State of Florida and the well-being of our state’s seniors, and we are thrilled this public policy is now law and look forward to continuing our work to improve the lives of seniors day in and day out,” concluded Matillo.