Fla. Stat. § 429.918 — Florida Code / Title XXX / Chapter 429 / Part III / Section 429.918
429.918 Licensure designation as a specialized Alzheimer’s services adult day care center; training.
Status: in_force

(1) This act may be cited as the “Specialized Alzheimer’s Services Adult Day Care Act.”

(2) As used in this section, the term: (a) “ADRD participant” means a participant who has a documented diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a dementia-related disorder (ADRD) from a licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse. (b) “Dementia” means the loss of at least two intellectual functions, such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning, which is severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily function. The term does not describe a disease, but describes a group of symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or physical conditions. (c) “Specialized Alzheimer’s services” means therapeutic, behavioral, health, safety, and security interventions; clinical care; support services; and educational services that are customized for the specialized needs of a participant’s caregiver and the participant who is affected by Alzheimer’s disease or an irreversible, degenerative condition resulting in dementia. (d) “Therapeutic activity” means an individual or group activity that is intended to promote, maintain, or enhance the ADRD participant’s physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or emotional health.

(3) An adult day care center may apply to the agency to have its license issued under s. 429.907, designated as a “specialized Alzheimer’s services adult day care center,” if the requirements under this section have been met. (a) The adult day care center must notify the agency at least 30 days prior to initial licensure under s. 429.907 or, if already licensed, at least 6 months prior to the expiration of a license issued under s. 429.907, that the adult day care center is seeking a designation as a specialized Alzheimer’s services adult day care center. (b) The agency, after receiving the notification pursuant to paragraph (a), may make a determination at an initial licensure inspection or at a licensure renewal inspection as to whether the adult day care center meets the requirements of this section to be designated as a specialized Alzheimer’s services adult day care center. If the agency determines that the adult day care center meets the requirements of this section, it must designate the adult day care center as a specialized Alzheimer’s services adult day care center at the time of initial licensure or at licensure renewal. (c) If the agency, during the initial or renewal inspection, determines that the adult day care center has committed an act under s. 429.911(2), the agency may deny the request for the designation or revoke such designation. (d) The agency may at any time revoke the designation if the adult day care center fails to maintain the requirements under this section.

(4) To obtain or maintain the designation under this section, an adult day care center must: (a) Have a mission statement that includes a commitment to providing dementia-specific services and disclose in the center’s advertisements or in a separate document, which must be made available to the public upon request, the services that distinguish the care as being suitable for a person who has Alzheimer’s disease or a dementia-related disorder. (b) Provide ADRD participants with a program for dementia-specific, therapeutic activities, including, but not limited to, physical, cognitive, and social activities appropriate for the ADRD participant’s age, culture, and level of function. (c) Maintain at all times a minimum staff-to-participant ratio of one staff member who provides direct services for every five ADRD participants. (d) Provide ADRD participants with a program for therapeutic activity at least 70 percent of the time that the center is open. (e) Provide ADRD participants with hands-on assistance with activities of daily living, inclusive of the provision of urinary and bowel incontinence care. (f) Use assessment tools that identify the ADRD participant’s cognitive deficits and identify the specialized and individualized needs of the ADRD participant and the caregiver. This assessment shall be conducted when the ADRD participant is initially admitted into the center and shall be updated when the ADRD participant experiences a significant change, but no less frequently than annually. (g) Create an individualized plan of care for each ADRD participant which addresses the identified, dementia-specific needs of the ADRD participant and the caregiver. The plan of care shall be established when the ADRD participant is initially admitted into the center and reviewed at least quarterly. (h) Conduct a monthly health assessment of each ADRD participant which includes, but is not limited to, the ADRD participant’s weight, vital signs, and level of assistance needed with activities of daily living. (i) Complete a monthly update in each ADRD participant’s file regarding the ADRD participant’s status or progress toward meeting the goals indicated on the individualized plan of care. (j) Assist in the referral or coordination of other dementia-specific services and resources needed by the ADRD participant or the caregiver, such as medical services, counseling, medical planning, legal planning, financial planning, safety and security planning, disaster planning, driving assessment, transportation coordination, or wandering prevention. (k) Offer, facilitate, or provide referrals to a support group for persons who are caregivers to ADRD participants. (l) Provide dementia-specific educational materials regularly to ADRD participants, as appropriate, and their caregivers. (m) Routinely conduct and document a count of all ADRD participants present in the center throughout each day. This count must be compared to each ADRD participant’s attendance record in order to ensure that an ADRD participant is not missing from the center. (n) Be a secured unit or have working alarm or security devices installed on every door that is accessible to the ADRD participant and provides egress from the center or areas of the center designated for the provision of adult day care - specialized Alzheimer’s services. (o) Not allow an ADRD participant to administer his or her own medication. (p) Condition the ADRD participant’s eligibility for admission on whether the ADRD participant has a coordinated mode of transportation to and from the adult day care center, to ensure that the participant does not drive to or from the center.

(5)(a) The operator of an adult day care center having a license designated under this section, and the operator’s designee, as applicable, hired on or after July 1, 2012, shall: 1. Have at least a bachelor’s degree in health care services, social services, or a related field, 1 year of staff supervisory experience in a social services or health care services setting, and a minimum of 1 year of experience in providing services to persons who have dementia; 2. Be a registered or practical nurse licensed in this state, have 1 year of staff supervisory experience in a social services or health care services setting, and have a minimum of 1 year of experience in providing services to persons who have dementia; or 3. Have 5 years of staff supervisory experience in a social services or health care services setting and a minimum of 3 years of experience in providing services to persons who have dementia. (b) The owner must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury stating that he or she has verified that the operator, and the operator’s designee, if any, have completed the education and experience requirements of this subsection.

(6) An adult day care center having a license designated under this section must provide the following staff training and supervision: (a) A registered nurse or licensed practical nurse must be on site daily for at least 75 percent of the time that the center is open to ADRD participants. Each licensed practical nurse who works at the center must be supervised in accordance with chapter 464. (b) Each employee must complete the training and continuing education required under s. 430.5025. (c) Each employee hired on or after July 1, 2012, who provides direct care to ADRD participants, must receive and review an orientation plan that includes, at a minimum: 1. Procedures to locate an ADRD participant who has wandered from the center. These procedures shall be reviewed regularly with all direct care staff. 2. Information on the Silver Alert program in this state. 3. Information regarding available products or programs used to identify ADRD participants or prevent them from wandering away from the center, their home, or other locations.

(7)(a) An ADRD participant admitted to an adult day care center having a license designated under this section, or the caregiver when applicable, must: 1. Require ongoing supervision to maintain the highest level of medical or custodial functioning and have a demonstrated need for a responsible party to oversee his or her care. 2. Not actively demonstrate aggressive behavior that places himself, herself, or others at risk of harm. 3. Provide the following medical documentation signed by a licensed physician, a licensed physician assistant, or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse: a. Any physical, health, or emotional conditions that require medical care. b. A listing of the ADRD participant’s current prescribed and over-the-counter medications and dosages, diet restrictions, mobility restrictions, and other physical limitations. 4. Provide documentation signed by a health care provider licensed in this state which indicates that the ADRD participant is free of the communicable form of tuberculosis and free of signs and symptoms of other communicable diseases. (b) Before admitting an ADRD participant to an adult day care center that has a license designated under this section, the center shall determine whether: 1. The medical, psychological, safety, and behavioral support and intervention required by the ADRD participant can be provided by the center. 2. The resources required to assist with the ADRD participant’s acuity level of care and support needed can be provided or coordinated by the center.

(8)(a) An ADRD participant’s file must include a data sheet, which must be completed within 45 days before or within 24 hours after admission to an adult day care center having a license designated under this section. The data sheet must contain: 1. Information regarding the status of the ADRD participant’s enrollment in an identification or wandering-prevention program, including the name of the program; and 2. A current photograph of the ADRD participant. (b) Dementia-specific services shall be documented in the ADRD participant’s file. (c) Notes regarding services provided to the ADRD participant must be entered at least monthly in the ADRD participant’s file, and must indicate the ADRD participant’s status or progress toward achieving identified goals. Additional notes must be entered more frequently if indicated by the ADRD participant’s condition. (d) An ADRD participant, or the participant’s caregiver, shall annually provide the center with updated medical documentation required under subparagraphs (7)(a)3. and 4., and the center must place that documentation in the ADRD participant’s file.

(9) An adult day care center having a license designated under this section must give to each person who enrolls as an ADRD participant in the center, or the caregiver, a copy of the ADRD participant’s plan of care, as well as information regarding resources to assist in ensuring the safety and security of the ADRD participant, which must include, but need not be limited to, information pertaining to driving for those persons affected by dementia, available technology on wandering-prevention devices and identification devices, the Silver Alert program in this state, and dementia-specific safety interventions and strategies that can be used in the home setting.

(10) If an ADRD participant’s enrollment in the center is involuntarily terminated due to medical or behavioral reasons, the center shall coordinate and execute appropriate discharge procedures, to be determined by rule, with the ADRD participant and the caregiver.

(11) This section does not prohibit an adult day care center that is licensed pursuant to s. 429.907, and without a designation under this section, from providing adult day care services to persons who have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia-related disorders.

(12) The Department of Elderly Affairs may adopt rules to administer this section.

History: s. 2, ch. 2012-43; s. 42, ch. 2018-106; s. 12, ch. 2023-278.