Virginia Assisted Living Association: VALA

Policy

For information about The Virginia Register of Regulations, which is a comprehensive source of regulatory information that complements and supplements the Virginia Administrative Code: click here

For information about the Virginia General Assembly: click here

VALA Political Action Committee - VALA PAC

It has become abundantly clear that one of the most pressing issues that our industry will face in the future is increasing regulation. VALA PAC was formed this year to proactively address this issue and bring about change in a way that is good for both our residents and our industry.

We are not opport to smart regulation, but it is our duty to fight new rules that do nothing to improve resident care and unnessicarily increase our costs. We also understand the importance of proactively seeking new legislation to clarify our role in the long term care network, to ensure that resident choice is preserved in an increasingly regulated environment, and to improve the qulity of care delivered by our providers.

In order to be effective in this venture, we need friends in the legislature, and in order to get our friends into the General Assembly, they need our support. While lobbying and campaign donations sound like dirty words after many stories of misuse, money is the lifeblood of any candidate's campaign. This is how they buy the advertising to get their mesage out, and getting their message heard is how they get elected.

VALA PAC is raisign money to actively support legislators and candidates who are concerned about senior issues and to make sure they understand our business. We need your support and are asking that each facility contribute a minimum of $150 to this important effort. We look forward to working for you and ensuring our industry's ability to be successful in the future. Please make your checks payable to VALA PAC and mail them to VALA, PO Box 6266, Richmond, VA 23230. Please include a business card with your donation or provide us with your name, mailing address, and phone number to satisfy reporting requirements by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for helping us to help others!

VALA's voice to the Virginia General Assembly
LeClair Ryan, A Professional Corporation ~ www.leclairryan.com

MayFox, a non-lawyer professional, is Director of Government Relations for LeClair Ryan and is a member of the firm's Administrative Law & Government Relationsteam. Ms. Fox specializes in providing legislative representation of health care and other business interests before the Virginia General Assembly.  Most recently, Ms. Fox has served as a member of Governor Warner’s transition staff. 
 
Prior to joining LeClair Ryan in 1999, Ms. Fox served for four years as the founding Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Health Plans, a non-profit trade and lobbying association representing health maintenance organizations and other managed care companies doing business in the Commonwealth. From 1990-1994, Ms. Fox served in Governor L. Douglas Wilder’s cabinet in two capacities:  first as Deputy Secretary of Administration, during which term she played a key role in converting the state employees benefits plan to managed care; and second, as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources, in which capacity she oversaw the implementation of the managed care capitation program for Virginia’s Medicaid recipients.  

Ms. Fox has more than twenty years experience in health care policy and lobbying positions both in the public and private sectors. Such positions include serving as director of government relations for a Richmond law firm representing a variety of health care and business clients, as well as the Director of the Division of Planning for Virginia’s Department of Health.  Ms. Fox has served on the Board of Directors for a number of Richmond area organizations, including the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) Leadership Metro Richmond and the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. She currently serves on the Westminster Canterbury’s Board of Trustees, the GRCC Youth Matters Board of Directors, and a managing director of Advantus Strategies, LLC, a government relations consulting company. 

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CURRENT REGULATORY INFORMATION - AS OF JUNE 5, 2008

Assisted Living Administrator Licensure:
A petition has been filed “To eliminate the requirement for a national examination for licensure of assisted living facility administrators and replace it with a state examination.” The public comment period will begin 6/23/2008 and end on 7/23/2008.” The request will be distributed to interested parties on the public participation list for the Board and published in the Register on June 23, 2008.  The Board will consider the request and any comment received at its next meeting, which is scheduled for October 28, 2008.” I suggest we create a statement from VALA’s executive committee to send to our membership to encourage public comment supporting a state examination.

Medication Aide Registration
The deadline to be registered as a medication aide is December 31, 2008. As of June 5, 2008, only 320 individuals have completed the needed training, submitted the required paperwork, and passed the required PSI examination. VALA encourages all providers to assist their medication aides in completing the training and paperwork required to schedule their PSI examination.  VALA and the Virginia Department of Health Professions encourages all individuals desiring to be registered medication aides to complete the required procedures as soon as possible. Please do not wait until the fall of 2008 to seek registration, as this may delay the processing of paperwork required to take the examination, which could result in the individual not being registered when the deadline approaches.
http://www.dhp.state.va.us/nursing/

Fast Track Proposed Regulation – Auxiliary Grants Program
The State Board of Social Services has proposed to amend 22VAC40-25 to remove the requirement for assisted living facilities with 20 or more residents to submit an annual audit report and replace it with a requirement that administrators of all assisted living facilities complete, sign and submit an annual Auxiliary Grant (AG) certification report. The report includes general resident census and financial information and a statement certifying that the facility properly handles and accounts for AG recipients’ personal needs allowances and is in compliance with applicable AG program and the Department of Social Services’ licensing regulations. The proposal also includes related technical and grammatical amendments.
http://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/olra/sbss/details/22VAC40-025fasttrack.pdf