National Care Professionals Institute (NCPI) provides ARF, RCFE, and NHA administrator education courses, and provides professional caregiver education courses. Our daughter Kallie and our son-in-law, Carlos,operate NCPI, and are approved to teach those courses and the 80-hour RCFE initial administrator course. They have caregiver training in English and Spanish and teach first aid and CPR instruction. They have a great workplace violence prevention plan. Call NCPI, (619) 322-9578 for information, or go to www.nationalcareprofessionals.com.
NCPI and RFCE, an “RCFE Applications” Partnership
NCPI and RFCE have partnered to assist facilities with the initial RCFE license application. Mike has been doing applications for over 23 years. Mike, Kallie and Carlos will be assisting with the Part A and B application. Go to NCPI’s link: https://nationalcareprofessionals.com/product/complete-rcfe-application-part-a-b/.
Appeals and More from Mike
Mike and Robin will continue to assist facilities with appeals and offer other resources. Follow the link: https://rfce4you.com/product-category/products-and-services/ to view RCFE resources including DSS’ mandatory regulation subscription service and our exceptional Handbook of Issues defense manual.
Industry Updates and Legislation
SB991, Caroline Menjivar (D-Burbank, San Fernando Valley) and Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), is nearing a final vote by the California Legislature to pursue RCFEs accused of elder abuse either by staff or administration. The bill would require that the category of abuse be listed on public-facing database maintained by the department. That means a new health and safety code will be added into law. The new law would be 1569.493. The law will allow DSS staff to “categorize and cite the violation according to the specific type of abuse.” This includes numerous laws under Welfare and Institutions Codes on physical abuse, abandonment, financial abuse, neglect, and mental suffering. DSS will be allowed to assess civil penalties, “alter the elements required to substantiate abuse” (which require new state regulations), and publicize all citations.
In attempting to ascertain if and when the state’s assisted living waiver program will reopen and restart placements from its extensive waiting list, the informational websites are silent. It is highly likely the situation is being covered up or, worse, the money—a mix of state and federal—may have been rerouted or stopped, especially by the federal government involved in investigating the alleged massive fraud perpetuated by many of California’s agencies. Top of Form
Numerous bills, proposed to support California Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Aging, are dead according to the state’s Legislative website. The staffing mandate for RCFEs, SB508, is dead. AB804 is dead. It would have used Medi-Cal funding to offset “housing costs,” if a person is homeless or are at risk of being homelessness; in need of “housing transition navigation services,” (an unknown non-governmental organization); housing deposits; and “housing tenancy sustaining services.” Another dead bill, SB434, will not demand RCFEs give a 90-day eviction notice to residents. AB315 has died and with it an additional 5,000 placements of persons on Medi-Cal to enter assisted living. Ask yourself—is the assisted living waiver program dead, too? According to the American Council on Aging, there are over 17,500 persons on the ALWP waiting list that “can lead to significant delays in accessing necessary care for seniors and individuals with disabilities, often stretching from months to years.”
AB517, titled “Medi-Cal: complex rehabilitation technology: wheelchairs” is also dead. This would have allowed any individual with a wheelchair, without a prescription, to seek the repair of a CRT-powered wheelchair (complex Rehab Technology, (electric) if the cost of the repair does not exceed $1,250. Anyone with an electric wheelchair, prescribed or not, could seek repair. Finally, AB283, the unionization of In-Home Supportive Services workers, did NOT die. It is an active bill that will increase the cost of using IHSS workers and reduce the actual budget amount to offset higher wages, union costs, and worker benefits.
AB2598, introduced by Assembly Member Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento), will require the person in charge of a “board and care facility” to notify the county’s public administrator when a resident, without a known next of kin passes away. The person in charge of the facility would be required to give immediate notice of a resident’s death to the county’s public administrator, and failing to make the notification would result in the “facility being liable for the cost of internment.” If the resident died outside the facility, a reasonable effort to notify the next of kin, if known, or the county’s public administrator must be made by the facility or face up to a $200/day fine up to $50,000 as determined by DSS or similar entity. The violation would be considered a “crime.” Ms. Krell can be contacted at (916) 324-4676. AB485, Liz Ortega (D-Hayword), is seeking to hold long-term care employers accountable for unpaid employee wages by removing the employer’s ability to conduct business in California including a denial of new license or renewal of a facility license. Under previous labor law, an employer could obtain a surety bond to ensure employee were paid. If passed, the bill would prevent DSS from issuing a new license to a facility or to renew a facility’s license with unpaid wages, as notified by the Department of Labor. Ms. Ortega can be reached at(510) 583-8818.