Tuesday vote could put proposed Arizona memory care rules in jeopardy

Last week, stakeholders shared the proposed rules for assisted-living communities that offer memory care services with the Arizona Governors’ Regulatory Review Council. That meeting didn’t end well for advocates. On Tuesday, the council will vote on whether to accept, table or reject those rules.

Long-term care advocates thought they had reached the finish line last week.

Then came a cascade of concerns about the memory care rules from industry lobbyists, including former Republican lawmaker Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

She represents the Hamilton Group, which owns assisted living facilities in the state.

"There is the concept that this has gone through a robust vetting process is just false," Ugenti-Rita said.

Advocates say the assisted living industry was always part of the conversation. Tiffany Slater with the state department of health said they reached out to every licensed provider.

"Every single licensee had an opportunity to comment and make suggestions. We read every single one of those comments and made edits as necessary," Slater said.

The rules are the result of a bill Gov. Katie Hobbs signed into law last year, which requires training standards for staff who work in memory care.

Rana Lashgari sits on the council and will be voting on the rules.

"We have folks that were at the stakeholder, part of the stakeholder process with the statute coming to us now in the rulemaking and saying there's parts of this that are either confusing, ambiguous or overly broad or exceed statutes," Lashgari said.

Lashgari asked the state health department to resolve the concerns with the assisted living industry.