Members and staff are playing integral roles in efforts to study assisted living staffing requirements.  Virginia’s Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) has undertaken a study of staffing ratio requirements following a state senator’s request to examine the issue.  In addition, VCAL is actively supporting the Department of Social Services (DSS) Task Force on Acuity Based Staffing and the related evaluation of the agency’s current staffing tools.  

Joint Commission on Health Care: Staffing Ratio Requirements for Assisted Living Facilities in Virginia

VHCA-VCAL has been in touch with JCHC committee members and staff to offer assistance in answering any questions about ALF operations.  Earlier this month Derrick Kendall hosted a tour of Lucy Corr Village for Paula Margolis, the JCHC’s senior health policy analyst and staff lead on the commission’s study.  VHCA-VCAL’s Matt Mansell and April Payne also took part in the facility tour.  JCHC staff expect to present their recommendations to the commission in September.

The JCHC is a standing commission of the General Assembly.  Its purpose is to study, report, and make recommendations on all areas of health care provision, regulation, insurance, liability, licensing, and delivery of services. The Commission is comprised of 18 legislative members: eight members of the Senate and 10 members of the House of Delegates.  During the 2017 General Assembly session Sen. Rosalyn Dance (D-Petersburg) introduced a study resolution to examine ALF staffing; that measure was referred to the JCHC, where Dance serves as Vice Chair. 

DSS Requests Feedback on Staffing Tools

The Department of Social Services (DSS) has assembled a Task Force on Acuity Based Staffing to look at the different approaches to acuity based staffing for assisted living.  The task force includes April Payne, VHCA-VCAL’s Vice President of Quality Improvement and Director of VCAL; as well as VCAL members Robin Gordon, Director of Nursing, The Terrace Assisted Living at Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach; and Alphonso Westley, Regional Director of Operations, Sunrise Senior Living. 

As part of this effort, the task force is soliciting feedback on the agency’s current staffing tools.  The staffing tool documents are available on the DSS website and include the following:

• Direct Care Staffing Assessment Tool
• Personal Care/Direct Care Services Checklist and Direct Care Time/Task Estimates
• Computation of Direct Care/Need-Related Staffing Requirements
• Staff by Shift Count Tool

You can provide your input on tools on the Assisted Living Direct Care Staffing Assessment Tool Questionnaire.

The agency plans to share feedback it receives from the Task Force and questionnaire with the JCHC before it finalizes its recommendations to legislators.