By Lisa Boblett
Adult Home Specialists are part of the Adult Service Team with Buncombe County. Their role is regulatory in that they routinely visit licensed Assisted Living and Family Care homes to assure that the regulations set forth by the Department of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) are complied with. These rules encompass all aspects of the operation including building safety and maintenance, food and nutrition (including reviewing residents on special diets), medication administration, health care, personal care, and supervision, staffing qualifications, staffing acuity, personal funds, and resident rights. While Adult Home Specialists visit the facility at least quarterly, they also often accompany the Department of Health Service Regulation on annual surveys.
While monitoring the above rule areas is routine, there are also facility complaints that the department might receive related to compliance and safety to which the Adult Home Specialist team responds. When a facility is found not to be in compliance with a rule area during monitoring or during a complaint investigation, the facility will be issued a corrective action that incurs the potential of monetary fines to be administered by DHSR. A part of the monitoring and complaint process is to review documents, and interview staff, residents, and collaterals including physicians and other entities.
A list of licensed North Carolina Adult and Family Care Homes as well as Mental Health Facilities can be found on the Department of Health Service Regulation website along with a comprehensive listing of the rules and facility non-compliance and star ratings.