ALF Regulatory Compliance and Laws 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fair Housing Act, an assisted living facility must provide which of the following to a resident with a disability?
- Free private-duty nursing care
- A discounted room rate
- Reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, and services (Correct answer)
- Priority admission over other applicants
Correct answer: Reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, and services
The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers, including ALFs, to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.
Question 2: A surveyor arrives unannounced at an ALF to investigate a complaint. What is the administrator's best course of action?
- Cooperate fully and provide requested records access (Correct answer)
- Require the surveyor to schedule an appointment
- Deny entry until the facility attorney arrives
- Allow entry only to common areas
Correct answer: Cooperate fully and provide requested records access
State licensing agencies have statutory authority to conduct unannounced inspections, and obstruction can itself be a violation.
Question 3: Which federal law establishes standards for the privacy and security of residents' protected health information?
- OSHA
- ADA
- FLSA
- HIPAA (Correct answer)
Correct answer: HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) governs the privacy and security of protected health information.
Question 4: An ALF administrator learns that a caregiver's professional license lapsed two months ago. The administrator should:
- Allow the caregiver to keep working while renewal is pending
- Remove the caregiver from duties requiring licensure until it is renewed (Correct answer)
- Reduce the caregiver's hours as a compromise
- Ignore it because the lapse was unintentional
Correct answer: Remove the caregiver from duties requiring licensure until it is renewed
Staff performing duties that require a license must hold a current, valid license, so the caregiver must be removed from those duties immediately.
Question 5: Which situation most clearly triggers a mandatory report to the state's adult protective services or abuse hotline?
- A resident complains the food is too cold
- Two residents disagree about the TV channel
- Staff suspect a resident's unexplained bruises resulted from mistreatment (Correct answer)
- A family member is late paying the monthly fee
Correct answer: Staff suspect a resident's unexplained bruises resulted from mistreatment
Suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult must be reported to the designated state authority by mandatory reporters.
Question 6: Under OSHA regulations, an ALF must maintain which document for hazardous chemicals used in the facility?
- A notarized chemical inventory filed with the county
- Receipts from all chemical purchases
- A resident sign-off log for cleaning products
- Safety Data Sheets accessible to employees (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Safety Data Sheets accessible to employees
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires readily accessible Safety Data Sheets for all hazardous chemicals in the workplace.
Question 7: What is the primary legal purpose of the resident admission agreement in an ALF?
- To disclose services, fees, and the rights and obligations of both parties (Correct answer)
- To transfer the resident's assets to the facility
- To waive the facility's liability for negligence
- To guarantee lifetime care regardless of condition changes
Correct answer: To disclose services, fees, and the rights and obligations of both parties
The admission agreement is a contract that must clearly disclose services, charges, and mutual rights and responsibilities.
ALF Regulatory Compliance and Laws 2
Under the Fair Housing Act, an assisted living facility must provide which of the following to a resident with a disability?