Florida's assisted living staffing rules

How many staff hours must a Florida assisted living facility schedule?

Rule 59A-36.010 sets a weekly floor of direct-care staff hours based on the total of residents, day care participants and respite residents: 168 hours for five or fewer, rising in steps to 539 hours for 86 to 95, then 42 more hours for each additional 20.

Source: Fla. Admin. Code r. 59A-36.010(3)(a).

Hours count only for staff actually on duty. Unfilled positions, people on leave, and employees who only cook, clean, maintain the building or do paperwork are excluded. An administrator's time counts when he or she is on the schedule and actively giving care.

Must someone be awake overnight in a Florida ALF?

Yes once a facility has 17 or more residents: at least one staff member must be awake at all hours, and in every facility at least one person with current first aid and CPR certification must be in the building at all times.

Homes under 17 residents may have overnight staff who are on site but asleep, which is common in the six-bed residential ALFs found in Lakeland and Winter Haven neighborhoods. If your parent wanders or is up several times a night, ask directly who is awake.

What does the minimum mean on an actual shift?

For a building of 86 to 95 residents, 539 weekly hours divided across the week's 168 hours averages a little over three people on duty at any moment, which is why the rule separately requires more staff whenever residents' scheduled and unscheduled needs are going unmet.

AHCA can order staffing above the minimum when it finds supervision or care inadequate (59A-36.010(3)(d)). Facilities must show residents or their representatives the direct-care work schedule on request, so ask to see a week of it.

What qualifications does a Florida ALF administrator need?

The administrator must be 21 or older, hold a high school diploma or GED if hired after October 30, 1995, clear Level 2 background screening, and pass AHCA's core training and competency test within 90 days of starting, with continuing education afterward.

One person may administer up to three ALFs, or several on one campus, if a manager is appointed for each; a lighter rule applies to three facilities of 16 beds or fewer within 15 miles of each other. AHCA must be told within 10 days when the administrator changes.

What training do Florida assisted living caregivers receive?

Direct-care staff complete the training in rule 59A-36.011; facilities that advertise Alzheimer's care, and future memory care licensees, add dementia training under s. 430.5025, Florida Statutes, and ECC and LMH facilities add their own specialized training.

New employees also file a health statement within 30 days of hire showing no signs of a communicable disease. On a tour, ask how many caregivers on the current schedule have finished dementia training, rather than whether the course exists.