New Law Aims to Improve Long-Term Care

Assisted living facilities that offer memory care must now employ specialized staff trained in handling dementia patients, under a new law supported by AARP Delaware.

It’s one of several measures passed in 2024 that will help improve care at the state’s long-term care facilities, says Sheila Grant, associate state director of advocacy at AARP Delaware.

Other changes include:

• The Division of Health Care Quality will be required to inspect long-term care facilities every 12 months, with increased civil penalties for violations.
  
  
• The Division of Health Care Quality will conduct additional oversight for temporary workers at such facilities.

“It’s going to improve the staffing and the quality of care,” Grant says of the new laws. When families are choosing a nursing home, they will be able to make more informed decisions, she says.