Confusion about what incidents of abuse between residents at assisted-living facilities should be reported to the state led a legislative committee Tuesday to ask for clarity and new rules.

The Administrative Rules Committee took up nursing home and assisted-living center reporting requirements after representatives of two Utah County assisted-living businesses complained to House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, that reporting non-serious incidents would be onerous and implies they aren't responsible businesspeople.

Lockhart also was concerned that privacy laws might be violated with such reporting and that Adult Protective Services (APS), which collects the reports, might improperly threaten the loss of business licenses.

But Debbie Kurzban, an assistant attorney general who represents the state Division of Aging and Adult Services, said APS has no authority over licensing and that the law isn't specific enough to determine whether APS could on its own enforce a rule. However, she said, other statutes specifically spell out what abuses must be reported.

Steve Sabins, a spokesman for the Utah Assisted Living Association and owner of Bel Aire Assisted Living in American Fork, said the reporting that Utah Long-term Care Ombudsman Daniel Musto is requiring for non-serious incidents that didn't result in injury was "tedious," "strenuous" and "improbable."

Citing the example of one resident slapping another resident who reaches for a roll during a meal, Sabins said it is already his responsibility to handle such disputes.

"Why do we need to report these very incidental things to Adult Protective Services?" he said. "This oversight is already there."

Musto explained that the reporting requirement is part of the federal Older Americans Act, and that long-term care nursing homes regularly comply. Though the requirement also applies to assisted-living residences, it hasn't been enforced. Musto said he's been traveling around the state educating assisted-living owners and administrators on that responsibility.

The state Health Department also collects the reports and uses them to evaluate facilities' safety. Musto said he created a new paperwork form for assisted-living facilities to report abuse incidents. While a single slapping incident might not seem like much, if a resident shows a pattern of such behavior, proper documentation might prompt an evaluation of whether that resident needs to be moved to another place for a different level of care. —

Elder abuse

Even nonserious abuse incidents at assisted-living homes need to be documented under federal law, official says.