Assisted Living Documentation in Arizona

The Arizona Department of Health Services requires all licensed assisted living homes to deploy a documentation package that is fully compliant with the current rules for assisted living facilities. This will be one of the important milestones you need to complete during your initial licensing process. In Arizona, DHS does not provide a documentation. They expect you to either create documents yourself or utilize a third party provider. During the initial survey process your documentation will be reviewed, and accepted or rejected by the surveyor.

What does an Assisted Living documentation package for Arizona encompass?

A complete documentation package for an assisted living home in Arizona will consist of the following-

• Policy and Procedure
• Facility Forms
• Resident Forms
• Employee Forms
• Quality Management Plan
• Disaster Response Plan

Assisted Living Home Documentation Do’s

Do buy from experienced professionals

Purchase your documents from an established, experienced consultant or training institution. Evaluate their experience and ensure they fully understand DHS rules and compliance. Here are a few I am comfortable recommending.

• Assisted Living Home Services
• Arizona Medical Training Institute
• Assisted Living Compliance Services

Do make sure the provider guarantees compliance

Ensure that your documentation provider will support your documentation through the initial survey process. Every surveyor is different and often you may be asked to modify your documentation for acceptance. The provider should be willing to work with you and the surveyor to ensure your documents meet initial survey requirements and make changes as necessary

Do make sure the provider delivers digital copies of the documents

Confirm that your document provider delivers digital copies of all purchased documents. You will likely need to customize and edit many documents for your business such as residency agreements, service plans, etc. You will also need to be able to update your documents as rules changes are enacted by regulatory agencies.

ALH Documentation Don’ts

Don’t buy generic document packages from internet websites

These documents are not specific to the state of Arizona and may not meet the rules requirements for survey completion. These documents are also generally more expensive than compliant documents.

Don’t use documentation found on Facebook groups or forums.

This documentation can be unproven and likely out of date. You will waste time with survey delays and document edits as its very unlikely these documents will be compliant.

Don’t use documentation from another another assisted living home.

You won’t know where this documentation was obtained from originally and you will not have any support should it be found unacceptable by your surveyor. It is also unethical to use documents that were sold to another assisted living home.

If you need assistance with assisted living documentation in Arizona, feel free to contact me.