To repeal section 198.073, RSMo 1994, relating to residential care facilities I and II, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Section 198.073, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 198.073, to read as follows:

     198.073. 1. A residential care facility II or residential care facility I shall admit or retain only those persons who are capable mentally and physically of negotiating a normal path to safety using assistive devices or aids when necessary, and who may need assisted personal care within the limitations of such facilities, and who do not require hospitalization or skilled nursing care.

     2. Those persons previously qualified for residence who may have a temporary period of incapacity due to illness, surgery, or injury, which period does not exceed forty-five days, may be allowed to remain in a residential care facility II or residential care facility I if approved by a physician.

     3. Those persons who are physically capable of negotiating a normal path to safety using assistive devices or aids, but who are mentally incapable of negotiating such a path to safety without assistance, may remain in a residential care facility I or residential care facility II if the facility meets the additional requirements of subsections 4, 5 and 6 of this section.

     4. Residential care facilities I or II which house persons who are mentally incapable of negotiating a normal path to safety without assistance must meet the fire safety standards listed below:

     (1) The facility must be equipped with an approved automatic sprinkler system;

     (2) The facility must have an electrically-supervised fire alarm system with a manual pull station provided at, or near each required exit and at, or near, each nurses station. The electronically supervised fire alarm system shall have either batteries or a generator as an emergency power source and alarm bells or other sounding devices that shall be audible in all areas of the building;

     (3) Any multi-story facility shall have at least two unobstructed exits remote from each other. One of the exits must be an outside stairway or an enclosed stairway that is separated from other areas by construction with a fire-resistant rating of at least one hour with an exit leading directly outside at grade level. The second exit may lead to a lobby, if such lobby has exit facilities leading directly outside at ground level; and

     (4) The facility must have an adequate number and type of personnel on duty at all times for the proper care of residents. The required staff persons shall be in the facility awake, dressed and prepared to assist residents in case of an emergency.

     5. Those persons who are physically capable of negotiating a normal path to safety using assistive devices or aids, but who are mentally incapable of negotiating such a path to safety, without assistance, shall be considered as two people for the purposes of determining the number of personnel needed to meet fire safety staffing requirements.

     6. For newly employed personnel, the provider agency must, at a minimum, provide twenty hours of orientation training within thirty days of employment. Four hours of this initial training shall relate to the care and safety of residents with Alzheimer's disease and/or related dementia. The provider agency must, at a minimum, provide ten hours of in-service training annually. At least four hours of the annual training shall relate to the care and safety of residents with Alzheimer's disease and/or related dementia.