Dec 13 2024 | Visitation
Imagine yourself in your own home, reading or watching TV. Someone you’ve known for years – or maybe, instead, a new acquaintance you met just last...Read More
RSS Feed
Assisted Living
Read More
Nov 22 2024 | Every Long-Term Care Employee is a Resident Advocate
The ombuds program in Washington state is vital in holding up the rights of residents staying and living in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities....Read More
Oct 25 2024 | Ombuds Access to Residents and Resident Councils
Washington state is known for its robust advocacy channels for residents living or staying in long term care (LTC) facilities, including assisted living and skilled...Read More
Sept 13 2024 | WHCA Welcomes Members to Report on Their DSHS Survey/Inspection Experience
We encourage members who have experienced a recent survey or inspection who are interested in sharing their thoughts and ideas on the survey process to complete our quick informational Survey on Surveys.Read More
Aug 26 2024 | Making the Most Recent Inspection Results Available
WHCA and Residential Care Services (RCS) headquarters staff recently met to discuss issues regarding recent assisted living facility members’ inspections. Of concern during this meeting...Read More
Jul 11 2024 | Resident Smoking
Residents who smoke require careful consideration to promote safe habits while honoring Washington state’s smoking laws. Even if your building is a “no smoking” facility,...Read More
Jun 17 2024 | Reporting Concerns About a Statement of Deficiencies
Receiving a Statement of Deficiencies (SOD) report from Residential Care Services (RCS) can be a stressful time. To understand each component of a SOD,...Read More
May 13 2024 | Sending Medications with Residents
It is common for assisted living residents to leave the facility to attend community events, go out to a restaurant with friends or family, or...Read More
Apr 12 2024 | What is a “Nonresident Individual” And What Services Can Assisted Living Facilities Offer Them?
Many assisted living facilities reserve several apartments for independent living residents, referred to in the assisted living regulations as “nonresident individuals.” The definition of a...Read More
March 22 2024 | What is Required to Become an Assisted Living Administrator?
There are several different pathways to becoming a qualified assisted living administrator in Washington state. The regulations, though offered in a step-wise fashion based on...Read More
Feb 15 2024 | Become Familiar with and Prepared for a DOSH Inspection
Washington State Labor and Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has instituted a Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for enforcement that targets industrial hygiene...Read More
Jan 26 2024 | Coordination of Health Care Services
Assisted living residents will likely have outside health care service providers such as home health or hospice at some point during their stay in the...Read More
Dec 20 2023 | Cannabis in Assisted Living
Washington state was an early legalizer of both medical and recreational marijuana. The legalization of cannabis in the state prompted long term care providers to...Read More
Nov 15 2023 | Nonavailability of Medications in Assisted Living
There are times when assisted living wellness staff experiences difficulties in obtaining residents’ necessary medications; there are various reasons for these difficulties and methods to address them.Read More
Oct 20 2023 | What is an Oversight Nurse, and Do You Need One in Your Assisted Living?
October 2023 | While the term “oversight nurse” is not defined in statute or rule, many assisted livings employ or contract with a registered nurse (RN) to serve in this capacity. This article aims to clarify what the role of the “oversight RN” entails, to ensure intermittent nursing services are provided with the proper level of nursing care.Read More
Sept 29 2023 | Intermittent Nursing Services
Nurses are a relatively new addition to assisted living in Washington. In the early 2000s, it was rare to see a nurse working full-time in an...Read More
Aug 22 2023 | Medication Assistance Via Accurately Directing Others
Residents must be assessed for the level of staff assistance they need with medications. Some residents (and in many instances some medications) warrant different levels of...Read More
Jul 24 2023 | Caregiver Training and Certification Timelines after the Pandemic’s End
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) training unit and the Department of Health (DOH) worked diligently with stakeholders, including WHCA, throughout the pandemic...Read More
Mar 21 2023 | Medication Errors in Assisted Living
With the high average number of daily medications taken by residents in assisted living, medication error rates can be relatively high. Combine the high number of...Read More
Jun 12 2023 | Resident Dementia Screening in Assisted Living
While all assisted living residents receive preadmission and ongoing assessments, those with symptoms of dementia require the facility staff to do some additional data collection. This...Read More
May 5 2023 | Who Can Conduct Resident Assessments in Assisted Living?
This article was originally sent via an emailed Survey and Regulatory newsletter in March 2022. While still accurate, new updates have come from DSHS because...Read More
Mar 1 2023 | Medication Administration and Nurse Delegation in Assisted Living
WHAT IS MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION? Legally, medication administration, accomplished by either a licensed nurse or a qualified credentialed caregiver, is the only medication service level that...Read More
Jan 3 2023 | Pets in Assisted Living
Pets can be a benefit to residents in assisted living; dogs and cats (and other animals) offer companionship and attention and can enhance the homelike...Read More
Nov 3 2022 | Continuing Education Requirement
Washington State’s continuing education (CE) requirements vary, depending on the person’s job title as well as which (if any) credential they hold. This article is written...Read More
Nov 3 2022 | Transferring Residents to Other Settings
There seems to be ongoing confusion surrounding the intricacies of involuntarily discharging a resident. Clarity was attempted through this article, with cited rules and step-by-step instructions provided....Read More
Apr 3 2022 | Inspection Process: Family Assistance with Medications and Treatment
The list of top citations over the past quarter shows family assistance with medications or treatments peaking at #2, the highest this WAC section has...Read More
Mar 3 2022 | Inspection Process: Writing a Plan of Correction
A plan of correction (POC) is required for every WAC violation noted in a Statement of Deficiencies (SOD) report. WAC 388-78A-3152 states that, by signing the attestation...Read More
Feb 3 2022 | Inspection Process: Enforcement Remedies
Residential Care Services (RCS) holds the authority to impose enforcement remedies on an assisted living licensee. While the entire list of remedies is listed in WAC 388-78A-3160,...Read More
Jan 3 2022 | Inspection Process: Resident Record Review
As part of the full inspection process, licensors will complete a full resident record review for each resident in the sample. While the record review is an important...Read More
Sept 3 2021 | Survey Process: Facilitating the Resident Group Meeting
Facility inspections include resident group meetings, conducted by your licensor. These meetings are ideally held relatively early in the full inspection process. This allows the licensors...Read More
Jul 3 2021 | Discharge Notice Guidance for Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing
Issuing a discharge notice to a resident and his/her surrogate decision maker is never an easy task. Not only is it emotionally difficult for all involved...Read More
Jun 1 2021 | New to Assisted Living? Learn What to Expect for Full DSHS Inspection
Many administrators and other assisted living leaders have entered the workforce during COVID-19. Because the licensing inspections were on hold for over a year, it is...Read More