Senior living industry advocates in Washington state are embracing new certification requirements for assisted living communities that provide memory care services, but they remain concerned about the timeline to comply.
SB 5337 was signed into law on April 30 and will take effect July 27. The new law requires assisted living communities that care for residents living with dementia to comply with new Department of Social and Health Services certification requirements by July 1, 2026.
The bill evolved from a 2021 informal study by the state’s Dementia Action Collaborative, which found varying services among the 237 assisted living communities that advertised offering memory care or specialized dementia care.
The bill created a definition of memory care units as well as certification mandates that will require staff members to receive dementia-specific training. Communities also will have to implement staffing, programmatic and safety plans in an effort to ensure resident well-being.
Several senior living organizations were involved in legislative discussions and called the bill “well-crafted and workable” for providers while saying it also gives residents and family members greater transparency into what to expect when memory care becomes necessary.
Washington Health Care Association President and CEO Carma Matti-Jackson told McKnight’s Senior Living that the organization supports the policy goals of SB 5337 but is concerned that the 2026 implementation date “presents a timeline that creates unnecessary challenges in the important work for adopting new operating standards, education both providers and consumers about what to expect, and ensuring a smooth transition to the new requirements that prioritise effective, consistent care.”
She added with the growing prevalence of dementia among older adults, the state should invest in lowering barriers to workforce entry for a growing skilled workforce, to ensure that high-quality solutions — such as those in SB 5337 — don’t lead to “unintended reductions in access to care.”
LeadingAge Washington told McKnight’s Senior Living that while the new rules should bring clarity around what is required to be labeled a memory care facility, it’s important to recognize that there will — and should — be a wide diversity of memory care assisted living facilities.
“A resident’s cognitive status represents only one facet of that person, and many other factors will play a part in determining what kind of community best meets the needs and preferences of the whole person,” LeadingAge Washington President and CEO Glen Melin said, adding there is no one-size-fits-all approach to memory care. “Transparency and disclosure will be important, and we will carefully evaluate the proposed rules to ensure that they don’t create unnecessary costs and/or administrative burdens.”
Source: McKnights Seniorliving
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