A house bill that joins similar efforts underway in other states to require Alzheimer’s training in long-term care is making its way through the Texas legislature.
House Bill SB 1673 would force assisted living facilities to provide their workers with four hours of Alzheimer’s and dementia training before handling patients with those conditions.
Sponsored by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), the bill has faced opposition from the nursing home industry, partly because of the costs associated with the training.
“We’re waiting to see the Committee substitute,” Kevin Warren, President and CEO of Texas Health Care Association, told Skilled Nursing News. “We’re told it will address concerns that we and others had regarding its application to independent consultants and contractors as well as how the training applies to facilities currently providing training of this nature.”
Many states have similar training requirements in place already, while others are attempting to make improvements.
Florida’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Education and Training Act, for example, proposes to enhance the training requirements for long-term care staff in Florida who have contact with individuals with dementia.
Florida’s proposed bill will extend the training requirements to include contracted workers.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s latest figures, at age 80, approximately 75% of people living with Alzheimer’s live in a nursing home, compared with only 4% of the general population. Meanwhile, nearly half, or 48%, of nursing home residents have dementia, including 59% of long-term care residents.
