§ 42-6-104 — Alternative long term care home pilot programs authorized

(a) Three (3) pilot program grants are authorized to study
the feasibility of innovation in long term care facilities.
Eligible recipients shall include cities, counties and any
entity planning for long term care needs or providing long term
care including private nonprofit and private for profit
entities. The department shall solicit proposals for the grants
through a request for proposals developed in consultation with
the advisory council on aging. The department, in consultation
with the council, shall select the recipients from the proposals
received. The department shall negotiate any specific
provisions of the grant award needed and shall administer the
grants. In selecting the recipients, the council shall:
(i) Consider the extent to which the proposal moves
the staff of the facility to a more patient centered culture;
(ii) Consider one (1) project to reconfigure an
existing nursing home to achieve a resident-centered cultural
change;
(iii) Fund one (1) study relating to the creation of
an alternative eldercare home, as defined in W.S.
42-6-102(a)(iii), provided that an acceptable project proposal
is received in response to the request for proposals;
(iv) Fund one (1) study relating to the creation of
an alternative eldercare home, as defined in W.S.
42-6-102(a)(iii), which shall require that the home:
(A) Maintains residences as units independent
from other facilities such that there is no physical connection
or shared roof structures between houses;
(B) Provides a secured exterior patio or garden
with covered seating for each house accessible by all residents
including those with wheelchairs and assistive devices;
(C) Provides for locked storage of hazardous
materials and control of kitchen access during high traffic
periods of meal preparation and clean-up;
(D) Provides a den in each house to accommodate
television viewing and limited overnight guests;
(E) Implements a self-managed work team approach
to in-house and clinical support staffing. Each house shall
have its own core in-house staffing that is specific and
dedicated to a single house;
(F) Uses a home base facility for the clinical
support team members that is outside and separate from the
house; and
(G) Maintains a lift free environment by
providing ceiling lifts in each resident's bedroom and bathroom.
(v) Consider the extent to which there is a market
for the proposed facility or the extent to which people in need
of long term care are likely to choose the proposed facility;
and
(vi) Consider the extent to which the proposed pilot
project will determine the effectiveness of its approach to
elder care in a timely manner.
(b) Each grant proposal shall include plans for a local or
applicant match of twenty-five percent (25%) of the grant
amount.
(c) For applicants that have completed any appropriate
needs study or market study, the grant funding may be used for
design and development of the facility and the organization
which will operate it. If this is done, the grant recipient
shall agree to accept Medicaid clients in the facility without
discrimination.
(d) The department is directed to work with grant
recipients in the development of rules and regulations which are
compatible with the culture of the homes and which will assure
appropriate licensure for the care provided and the needs of the
elder residents. The department shall inform the joint labor,
health and social services interim committee if legislation is
needed to authorize any necessary rules and regulations.
(e) As a condition of receiving the grants, each grantee
shall agree to provide training and reports to other parties in
the state interested in innovative long term care approaches.