Has the RCFE License Changed Due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic?

As of the writing of this article in the second quarter of 2020, the answer to that question is: no. The RCFE License has not changed, but we can expect some of the requirements in the future will. Why you ask? Well, it is simple really. If you will recall the big MRSA scare, as this superbug changed the landscape of Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly by adding many additional mandates for bacteria control, the State of California did institute many new guidelines.

So, you can expect as authorities get a handle on the CoronaVirus and figure out how best to safeguard our elderly seniors living in residential care facilities, that there will be even more rules and regulations. And, these regulations will be expected to be known by Residential Care Facility personnel, nurses, administrators, and that each facility will have to have a plan specific to the outbreak of any future pandemic virus or disease.

How soon will these new requirements come forth? We cannot say for sure, only they are inevitable, and we expect them sooner than later. After all, at no other time has our country experienced a pandemic quite like this one in our modern age. It has shaken America to its core, and the nursing home sector to its knees. The Industry works hard to share best management practices and that is much of what must be known for an RCFE License.

There will certainly be new protocols put into place at every RCFE in the State of California. And, since the State of California is always on the leading edge of the best possible management practices to ensure our seniors are cared for, you can rest assured that the rest of the country won’t be far behind in requiring much of the same, if not the exact rules and regulations stipulated in the forthcoming guidelines.

The RCFE Licenses soon will come with stipulations, regulations, rules, and new requirements that must be followed, and the paperwork associated will be audited by state regulators with harsh fines, or possible shutdowns of facilities who fail to timely come back into compliance. This will occur because it must, because we are all in this together, and we don’t want to lose any more lives to this or any future pandemic.

It’s always important to have a radar on the horizon and our industry does, soon it will be time to implement these new procedural changes to continue our very important work at Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.