RCFE Administrators Carlos and Dr. Kallie Rojo at National Care Professionals Institute have the required workplace violence prevention plan, and offer first aid and CPR training, and have caregiver courses in both English and Spanish. Look for their soon-to-be launched 20 hours of online RCFE/ARF courses and their caregiver courses! Kallie is my stepdaughter! https://nationalcareprofessionals.com/.
After 46 years in the RCFE Industry, Willy Halle is retiring. He has chosen Patrick Perlas to become the Broker of Record for all of his existing accounts. Perlas Insurance has over 34 years of experience providing services in the healthcare industry. Willy will continue to provide insurance services to any new owners or licensees for liability, workers compensation and property with the Perlas Group. Willy will also assist all current clients with their 2025 renewals to make the transition as smoothly as possible. Willy can be reached at (760) 835-1884 or willyhalle@gmail.com. Patrick can be reached at (818) 468-4017 or jpatrick@perlasinsurance.com. Willy sends his THANKS to all his past and present clients and to those that provide exceptional care for their residents.”
Our 2025 Title 22 and 2025 Health and Safety Code subscription service is the most affordable in the industry, just $29, AND it self-renews! You are not charged again. Our regulation subscription service is found at: https://rfce4you.com/product/rcfe-subscription-service-to-title-22-and-health-safety-code/.
Industry Updates and Legislation
There has been no progress, as yet, on AB508 relating to direct care staffing ratios. The still-active bill is likely to advance despite the perception of staff shortages and higher minimum wages from $16.50 enacted in January and as much as $19.65 per hour in West Hollywood. The bill would define “direct care ratio” as “the number of hours worked by direct care staff on a specific day divided by the number of residents who received care at that facility that day.” Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Napa) is seeking to add Health and Safety Code 1569.375 requiring RCFEs to maintain records of its direct care ratios for a minimum of 12 months. It would require RCFEs to disclose its direct care staffing ratios to residents or to the resident’s representatives. The bill would require each RCFE to make its direct care staffing ratios available to the public by posting a daily direct care ratio on the facility’s internet website and in locations visible to all residents. Ms. Aguiar-Curry can be reached at (916) 319-2004.
SB435 was amended to require RCFEs licensed for 16 or more residents to have an “alternative source of power” starting in 2027, “to protect residents’ health and safety for no fewer than 72 hours during any type of power outage.” This alternative source could include a generator or batteries or a combination of batteries in tandem with a renewable electrical generation source. The statistics show that 18% of RCFEs are licensed to care for 16 or more residents but serve “81 percent of the state’s RCFE residents.” It is unlikely the majority of facilities would be affected. Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont), the bill’s author, can be reached at (510) 794-3900.
Senator Wahab has also introduced SB433, a bill that would amend the current law on rent control. The bill is very poorly written but would allegedly prohibit facilities from charging a resident receiving Medi-Cal reimbursed services through the ALWP more than the established SSP rate.
Senator Wahab has authored SB434 related to resident evictions. This bill would amend Health and Safety Code 1569.683 and add 1569.684. If enacted, it could require as much as a 60 or 90-day eviction notice depending upon a resident’s length of occupancy in the facility. Specific information would be required to be included in the notice such as the licensee’s “reasonable efforts to create a safe discharge plan and would require the plan to include a list of the resident’s post-eviction needs, goals, and preferences, and a list of discharge locations that meet specified criteria, such as being financially practicable for the resident.” The ombudsman would then be entitled to be “provided” with a copy of the notice.
AB919, Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), is seeking to have an individual with a power of attorney to apply for a “confidential voter status” on behalf of persons with “cognitive impairment.” Huh? The bill is so poorly written but is apparently seeking to protect a resident’s right to vote even if the resident has “dementia, Alzheimer’s, and any other condition that, in the sole discretion of the Secretary of State, impairs memory or judgment” to vote. No one could question the resident’s ability to vote because any cognitive impairment would be confidential. Dementia residents voting? Sounds noble, but it leads to many questions about competency to understand. No one would know of the person’s dementia status. Mr. Lowenthal’s office in Long Beach can be reached by calling (562) 366-2769. AB251 is an active bill by Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) relating to adult and elder abuse by amending section 15657 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The change to the current law would allow a judge to not seek “clear and convincing evidence” about a defendant’s liability for physical abuse and neglect but to allow the courts to apply a “preponderance of the evidence standard” brought against an RCFE or skilled facility when seeking remedies for injuries incurred related to the abuse of a resident or patient. Mr. Kalra’s office can be reached by calling (408) 286-2535.
Mike and Robin highly recommend Boris & Amanda Palomino and their program on “How to Build an RCFE” See their website: https://palominoseniorliving.com/calendar