House approves assisted living bill

ATLANTA – The state House voted 172-1 Tuesday to approve a bill that will help seniors stay in assisted living facilities instead of being forced into nursing homes simply because they need help taking medications or getting around in an emergency.

The bill, which has implications for countless elderly Georgians and their family members, would create an official “assisted living” designation in state law for the first time. The facilities, which must have 25 beds or more, could have medication aides on staff who could give residents pills and insulin shots, which isn’t allowed today. And the rules would permit residents to stay even if they need some assistance getting around, as long as the facility has enough staff to keep its residents safe during a fire or other emergency.

Assisted living facilities are currently licensed as personal care homes, a designation created years ago that doesn’t allow facilities to provide much assistance unless the state grants a waiver. Under current law, the state can force elderly people to move out of assisted living facilities they consider their homes, even when the facility wants the resident to stay.

Senate bill 178 will return to the Senate, which already passed a slightly different version of the bill.