PCH Interpretive Guidelines

Rules for Personal Care Homes ¨C Interpretive Guidelines

This is an unofficial copy of the

rules that has been reformatted for

the convenience of the public by

the Department of Community

Health. The official rules for this

program are on record with the

Georgia Secretary of State¡¯s office.

The Secretary of State¡¯s website

for reviewing the rules is



Effort has been made to ensure

the accuracy of the unofficial copy.

The Department reserves the right

to withdraw or correct text in this

copy if deviations from the official

text as published by the Georgia

Secretary of State are found.

111-8-62-.01

Authority

Clarification for Providers

This information is intended to clarify rules and to provide technical

assistance and examples for providers with occasional notes on how

surveyors may survey for a particular requirement. Such clarification and

examples are subject to change from time to time as necessary to better

reflect rule requirements. Any references which may reflect ¡±Best

Practices¡± are suggestions for raising the quality of care but may not be

requirements at this time. Reference to other related rules may be

provided here to assist the reader in finding the information.

111-8-62-.01 Authority. The

legal authority for this Chapter is

the Official Code of Georgia

Annotated, Chapters 2 and 7 of

Title 31.

Authority: O.C.G.A. ¡ì¡ì 31-2-4, 31-2-7, 31-2-8,

and 31-7-1 et seq.

111-8-62-.02

Purposes

Effective Date: 1/8/13

Page 1 of 144

111-8-62-.02 Purposes. The

purposes of these rules and

regulations are to establish the

minimum standards for the

operation of personal care homes

which provide residential and

personal services to adults who

require varying degrees of

supervision and care and to assure

safe, humane and comfortable,

These rules establish minimum requirements that personal care homes

must meet to obtain and retain their permit to operate the facility.

Individual facilities may be required to exceed these minimum

requirements as explained in the rules to meet the specific health and

safety needs of their resident population. This is particularly applicable for

facilities choosing to serve special populations such as Alzheimer¡¯s

residents. Safety needs include an ability of the facility to evacuate the

residents in the event of an emergency.

Rules for Personal Care Homes ¨C Interpretive Guidelines

supportive residential settings.

Authority: O.C.G.A. ¡ì¡ì 31-2-7, 31-2-8, 31-7-1,

31-7-2.1 and 31-7-12.3

111-8-62-.03

Definitions

111-8-62-.03 Definitions. In

these rules, unless the context

otherwise requires, the words,

phrases and symbols shall mean

the following:

(a) ¡°Abuse¡± means any intentional

or grossly negligent act or series of

acts or intentional or grossly

negligent omission to act which

causes injury to a resident,

including but not limited to, assault

or battery, failure to provide

treatment or care, or sexual

harassment of the resident.

(b) "Activities of daily living"

means bathing, shaving, brushing

teeth, combing hair, toileting,

dressing, eating, laundering,

cleaning private living space,

managing money, writing letters,

shopping, using public

transportation, making telephone

calls, grooming, obtaining

appointments, engaging in leisure

and recreational activities, or other

similar activities.

(c) "Administrator" means the

manager designated by the

governing body as responsible for

the day-to-day management,

Effective Date: 1/8/13

Page 2 of 144

Activities of daily living are those routine things that one does to live a

healthy and safe life.

Rules for Personal Care Homes ¨C Interpretive Guidelines

administration and supervision of

the personal care home, who may

also serve as the on-site manager

and responsible staff person

except during periods of his or her

own absence.

(d) "Ambulatory Resident" means

a resident who has the ability to

move from place to place by

walking, either unaided or aided by

prosthesis, brace, cane, crutches,

walker or hand rails, or by

propelling a wheelchair or scooter;

who can respond to an emergency

condition, whether caused by fire

or otherwise, and escape with

minimal human assistance such as

guiding a resident to an exit, using

the normal means of egress.

Ambulatory¡± means able to move from place to place

1. by walking, either unaided or aided by prosthesis, brace, cane, crutches,

walker or hand rails or

2. by self-propelling a wheelchair.

And

Is able respond to an emergency condition, whether caused by fire or otherwise,

and escape with minimal human assistance such as guiding a resident to an exit,

using the normal means of egress.¡°Respond¡± means to act or react.

¡°Minimal human assistance¡± means cueing, verbal encouragement, or limited

physical assistance such as guiding a resident or assisting with a transfer.

¡°Assistance with a transfer¡± is included in personal services as defined by Rule.

111-8-62-.03(dd). If assistance with transfer is provided, the resident must be

able to move from place to place by self-propelling his/her own wheelchair once

transferred.

If the resident cannot move from place to place by self-propelling the wheelchair

once transferred, the resident does not meet the definition of ¡°ambulatory

resident¡±.

A resident¡¯s cognitive ability is not a factor in the consideration of a resident¡¯s

ambulatory status.

Effective Date: 1/8/13

Page 3 of 144

Rules for Personal Care Homes ¨C Interpretive Guidelines

(e) ¡°Applicant¡± means any of the

following:

1. When the personal care home

is owned by a sole proprietorship,

the individual proprietor shall be

the applicant for the license,

complete the statement of

responsibility and serve as the

licensee.

(e) ¡°Applicant¡± means any of the

following:

2. When the personal care home

is owned by a partnership, the

general partners shall be the

applicant for the license, complete

the statement of responsibility and

serve as the licensee.

(e) ¡°Applicant¡± means any of the

following:

3. When the personal care home

is owned by an association or

limited liability company (LLC), the

governing body of the association

or LLC shall authorize the

application for the license and

complete the statement of

responsibility and the association

shall serve as the licensee.

(e) ¡°Applicant¡± means any of the

following:

4. When the personal care home

is owned by a corporation, the

Effective Date: 1/8/13

Page 4 of 144

Rules for Personal Care Homes ¨C Interpretive Guidelines

governing body of the corporation

shall authorize the application for

the license and complete the

statement of responsibility and the

corporation shall serve as the

licensee.

(f) ¡°Assisted living care¡± means

the specialized care and services

provided by an assisted living

community which includes the

provision of personal services, the

administration of medications by a

certified medication aide and the

provision of assisted selfpreservation.

(g) "Chemical Restraint" means a

psychopharmacologic drug that is

used for discipline or convenience

and is not required to treat medical

symptoms.

(h) "Criminal history background

check" means a search as

required by law of the criminal

records maintained by law

enforcement authorities to

determine whether the applicant or

prospective employee or employee

has a criminal record as defined in

these rules and applicable laws.

Effective Date: 1/8/13

Page 5 of 144

Notice: Use of the Term, Assisted Living, by Personal Care Homes

O.C.G.A. ¡ì10-1-393(26) prohibits a personal care home from offering,

advertising or soliciting the public to provide services ¡°which are outside

the scope of personal care services of assisted living care¡± which the

facility is specifically authorized to provide . Accordingly, effective April

2012, the Department will not issue an initial permit to a personal care

home which uses the term, ¡°assisted living¡± in the name of the home or

any of its marketing materials, unless it is applying to become licensed as

an ¡°assisted living community¡±. Currently licensed personal care homes,

which use the term, ¡°assisted living¡± must remove the term, ¡°assisted

living¡± from their names and marketing materials, as soon as practical,

but not later than May 1, 2013 or become licensed as assisted living

communities.

Every antipsychotic medication that is used in PCH must have a specific

medical diagnosis supporting the use of the medication, e.g.

schizophrenia, dementia with psychosis, Huntington¡¯s and turrets

syndrome are examples of medical diagnoses that might support the use

of antipsychotic medications.

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