ATLANTA — The Department of Community Health (DCH) has decided not to change a rule reducing staffing requirements in memory care units.
The DCH board had initially adopted the rule on November 9, 2023, which would have changed the current requirement of two direct-care workers in memory care units, as set by law, to allow for only one. The board was set to vote on final adoption at a meeting in early 2024.
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However, following a period of public comment in December, the board abandoned the plan to change the rule officially.
Professionals in the caregiving business were split about how the rule change would affect care. The Alzheimer’s Association strongly opposed the change while the Senior Living Association defended it.
The DCH has not revealed why it decided to drop the change.
Statement from the Alzheimer’s Association:
The Alzheimer’s Association–Georgia Chapter would like to commend the Department of Community Health for listening to the concerns of Georgia’s dementia caregivers and deciding not to enact a rule change that would undo state staffing minimums in memory care.
We at the Alzheimer’s Association believe that a rule change–proposed in December of 2023–would not only put the safety and well-being of persons with dementia in jeopardy, it would also put the safety of the direct care workers in jeopardy as well. More than 520 of Georgia’s dementia caregivers sent letters to DCH in opposition to the proposal and many also spoke at two public hearings on the matter. There were also representatives from community partners such as the Georgia Council on Aging, law enforcement, and Georgia gerontology professors. And the DCH listened.
We at the Alzheimer’s Association would like to thank Rep Sharon Cooper (Marietta) for her leadership in speaking out against the rule change. She sponsored the legislation in 2020 that set the staffing minimums and continues to fight any efforts to reduce staffing minimums.
The Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter thanks the DCH for listening to these Georgians and allowing the staffing minimums to stand. We believe this allows the state's memory care residents to continue living in safety and dignity in certified memory care units in Georgia
Statement from the Senior Living Association:
We appreciate DCH continuing to look at solutions with us. Our goal is to make Georgia the best place to live a choice-driven, fulfilled life of dignity through all stages of aging.