Learn About Assisted Living Laws and Regulations in Mississippi

If we all were more aware of our laws and regulations, the world would probably work better and more smoothly. Fewer mistakes would be made, and it would be more easy to hold people accountable for not upholding these laws.

This, to me, is especially true for industries like assisted living, where the care of a resident can be a matter of life or death – and too often, the latter is the result.

Fortunately, any individual, whether it’s a senior living in an assisted living home, or a family member, or caregiver, or perhaps an employee of an assisted living residence – can access, and become familiar with every state’s laws, statutes and regulations concerning assisted living – if you know where to look.

For Mississippi, your assisted living laws and regulations are found at the Mississippi Department of Health:

Regulations for Mississippi Personal Care Homes – Assisted Living

You can easily get a copy of the regulations for print, or to save for future reference. The document’s main page looks like:

The document outlines the minimum standards expected of assisted living homes and personal care residences throughout the State of Mississippi.

The document, which can be viewed, saved and dowloaded in a .pdf format, is 40+ pages long, and is a lot to digest. Some important sections include:

Subchapter 2 – Definitions, which includes a definition for Assisted Living in Mississippi. It’s important to understand that each state regulates, and thus defines assisted living differently, so if you are looking for care for a loved-one from another state, you need to be familiar with the differences in definitions and regulations.
Subchapter 3 covers the Procedure Governing Adoption and Amendment.
Subchapter 4 covers Inspections. “Each Licensed Facility shall be inspected by the licensing agency or by persons delegated with authority by said licensing agency at such intervals as the licensing agency may direct.”
Subchapter 5 covers the terms “Personal Care Home – Residential Living” and “Personal Care Home – Assisted Living” and outlines a basic description of what is provided by each entity.
Subchapter 6 covers the Types of Licenses available: Provisional Licenses, and Regular Licenses.
Subchapter 7 covers the Application or Renewal of a license, and associated procedures. There is a section that includes the fees for each application.
Subchapter 8 outlines Licensing, the issuance thereof, posting of licenses, and the non-transferability of assisted living licenses in Mississippi
Subchapter 9 outlines the Denial, Suspension or Revocation of a license.

Additional topics and subchapters contained in this document cover, and include: Medical and Personal Care Services; Food Service; Drug Handling and Storage; Resident Activities; Physical Environment; General Building Requirements, and much more.

Who is responsible for the oversight, and regulation of Assisted Living in Mississippi?

This title goes to the Department of Health, Bureau of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification.

A visit to the Health Facilities Licensure and Certification site offers some helpful information for both consumers and providers.

First, there is an 800 number available for filing a complaint against a regulated facility in Mississippi.

There is a comprehensive directory (again, in .pdf format) for Health Care Facilities statewide in Mississippi, which includes assisted living

http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/6747.pdf

There is also a very helpful section that offers links to regulations for all types of health care facilities statewide, including Personal Care Homes for both Residential Living and Assisted Living.

You will also find the rules and regulations for Hospice Operations, Intermediate Care Facilities, Adult Foster Care, and Alzheimer’s Units.