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The NHLP Resource Center in collaboration with Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (HCGNE) at the University of Iowa College of Nursing is conducting a project on regulation of nursing homes that admit and care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. This project is supported in part with a grant from the Nellie Ball Trust Research Fund, Iowa State Bank and Trust Company, Trustee.
This project concerns the regulation of nursing homes with a significant proportion of nursing home residents who have dementia. During the mid-1990’s a number of nursing homes established special care units (SCUs) within larger facilities to meet the special care needs of individuals with dementia. In response many state licensing laws imposed specific requirements on SCUs to assure that residents are appropriately placed receive appropriate care in these units. However, many nursing home residents with dementia do not reside in SCUs, and nursing homes generally do have to comply with any regulatory requirements related to their special care needs.
The purpose of the project is to develop recommendations for regulation of nursing homes that admit and care for residents with dementia The recommendations ,which are currently being developed, will be consistent with and promote evidence-based best practices with respect to this population.
This project was the focus of the College of Law’s Health Law and Policy Practicum in which both law students and health sciences students were enrolled. These students did a literature review, surveyed state licensing statutes and regulations for provisions and drafted model statutory and regulatory provisions.