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Arizona Senate Committee Approves Intermediate Care Facility Licensing Bill

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously voted to advance a bill that would require Intermediate Care Facilities, like the one at Hacienda Healthcare, to be licensed by the Arizona Department of Health.

If signed into law, the bill would no longer allow ICFs to be exempt from state licensing. Sen. Heather Carter sponsored the emergency measure, which has bipartisan support. While all of the committee members voted aye, Sen. Tyler Pace expressed concerns.

"I’m not sure this licensing will prevent anything that is currently happening or bad things that are happening from happening again," Pace said. "While I think this is a good idea to add them to the list of licensed facilities, I don’t think this will solve some of those care issues that we see at those type of facilities."

Last week, Hacienda Healthcare agreed to allow DHS to regulate its ICF. DHS is currently crafting its provider agreement, which should be completed by the end of the week.

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KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.