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Today, seniors and their families are initially looking for assisted living facilities online. Therefore, it is more important than ever that your assisted living facility ranks well in Google and other places that people search for assisted living facilities.

The higher you rank and the better your online reviews, the more likely that you will attract greater interest, more visitors and qualified new residents.

We knew little about online marketing when we started but wanted to summarize the basics for you here. Even if you are new to the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or already have some knowledge, the information in this blog will provide you with key insights that can be easily accomplished.

1 – How to Get More People to Your Website

If you are still in the early stages of setting up an assisted living facility, you first need to look into RCFE certification. While getting your RCFE certification and license, you can start the process of building your website. Look at how other facilities are listed online.  Do they have a website and are they in online directories such as Yelp or Google My Business?  What do you like and not like so you can inform the people building your website?

Once the site is created and is live, you can start trying to rank for keywords. In other words, you hope to find keywords that people would logically be searching for assisted living and try to get as high on the Google search results as possible, so viewers will find you.

A good search engine strategy centers on finding the keywords that people looking to find a facility in a specific town are most often searching. Essentially, you need to comprehend what terms people are likely to type into their search engine bar so your website can appear.

Most likely, the keywords would revolve around phrases like “assisted living” or “assisted living facility” or “senior assisted living” along with the city your community resides in.

For example, if your facility was in Encino, California, you’d most likely want to show up in search results when people typed in “assisted living Encino”.

The simple strategy is then to place that keyword in the text of your home page – maybe even a couple of times. That way, Google will see that keyword on your site and make the connection to the search. Thus, you’ll have a better chance of ranking higher when that phrase is searched for.

Even if you already run an established community, you can gain a lot of potential search engine ground by adding those keywords to your existing website on several of the pages that you think would best describe your facility.

2 – Claim Your Google My Business & Other Directory Listings

Many of the major search engines allow you to make a specific business listing where you can include all of your facility’s key information. Google being the largest search engine in the world is the place you want to begin.

The Google My Business listing is the most popular, most visited and simplest for you to claim. It’s easy to sign your business up and costs nothing. You simply go to Google, search “Google my business” and click on the “manage now” button.

The rest of the process will take minutes by just following the directions on each screen. Enter your business’ information along with contact details, and you will immediately have a new presence with Google My Business (GMB).

Often, these listings also automatically display a map of your location. Further enhancing your GMB presence, you can easily upload photos of your facility or your staff to personalize the listing further.

Now, when someone types in the name of your facility, this listing will be near or at the top of the results. Over time, other keywords that you have been adding to your website pages may also display this GMB page increasing your prospective clients even further.

Here is an example of Google’s local search results for “assisted living Encino”

Note how the facility with the most reviews showed up at the top of list.  More about reviews below.

While Google may be the biggest directory in the world, we’d also suggest setting up similar profiles on other directories such as:

Yelp for Business

Better Business Bureau

Assisted Living Directory

Caring.com

Taking the time to get your assisted living business noticed is almost as important as the RCFE licensing process if you want to be successful.

Reading online RCFE reviews help people find the best assisted living facilities near you.

3 – Solicit Reviews From Satisfied Clients

The importance of online reviews cannot be understated.

A recent survey showed that people were 270%  more likely to purchase a good or service that had at least one five-star review as compared to a company that had no reviews at all.  Almost three times more likely to choose your facility just because of reviews.

Once you have set-up your directories, engage with your satisfied clients – both past and present – and ask them to please post a positive, five-star review on these places. (To make it simple for them to do, you may want to email them the request with a series of direct links to your Google My Business, Yelp and other business directory pages.)

You also want to manage the reviews – both favorable or unfavorable – in a timely fashion. This direct interaction with your audience shows you care about your quality of service and care what your customers think.

If you have any negative reviews, it is a good idea to address these directly. Offer an apology or explain the circumstances behind this complaint. Online reputation management is key to growing the word-of-mouth and credibility of your facility.

In addition, placing any positive reviews on your website in a testimonial section also helps enhance the selling of your service.

4 – Engage Visitors on Your Website

So you’ve started getting potential new clients to come to your website after seeing you rank high in search results and reading all your positive reviews. Now the goal is converting them from visitors into customers.

You want to make your site easy to comprehend with a very clear “call to action”. In other words, you should quickly and clearly make the case why your facility is the best one for mom or dad. Then get the web user to call your business or fill out a contact form.

The phone number and contact form should be present at all times on the page. Your web developer should recognize that the forms and phone should be at the top of the page in a stationary spot that doesn’t move out of the reader’s eye even if he or she scrolls down the page.

The other key to closing new leads is a lightning quick response. If a call is made after hours and a message is left, that lead should be the top priority for a recall first thing in the morning.

Similarly, when the contact form is filled out, there should be a follow-up action (preferably a phone call to the person) within minutes, even seconds. With so many search results out there for assisted living facilities, chances are the same family that reached out to you also did so to several other facilities.

In this case, it’s often a race as the first facility to contact that potential client will more often than not win the client’s business.

It is optimal to have a member of your RCFE administrator staff who can be tasked with managing and following up with interested parties right away.

Conclusion

These are just some of the basics that can seriously help improve your online marketing. It may seem intimidating at first but it gets easier once you start.  If you would like to know more than I recommend you reach out to great people and the company we use for digital online marketing.

Please let us know if you found this blog helpful.

About Assisted Living Education

Assisted Living Education is the premier provider of RCFE certification, RCFE classes, licensing, products and services for assisted living. Our teachers are industry professionals with many years of experience that are engaging, entertaining and highly informative. They offer RCFE consulting services and share real RCFE experience that will help you be successful in this fast growing career industry.

Good luck!

Starting your first Resident Care Facility or RCFE can be exciting, fulfilling and daunting all at the same time. Between securing a location and getting your RCFE administrator certifications it can be easy to overlook some of the important basic ideas that will help ensure your first RCFE is a success.

Over the years, we have worked with hundreds of newly minted RCFE administrators to make sure their facilities, policies and business strategies are setting them, and their residents up for the best possible experience. In that time, we’ve learned a thing or two (or six) on some of the foundational elements of what makes a successful RCFE. Here is what we would say our 6 most important tips for building a successful RCFE facility are…

1. Spend Time Creating Your Team

More than just a team, you are creating a professional business culture. And where that culture starts is you and your employees. Those first several hires are vital to any new venture, regardless of the industry, and especially in a care-oriented industry like this one. The people you choose and personalities they bring set the tone and precedent for all that is to come.

With everything in flux, you might be tempted to “fire drill” the hiring process in a rush to hit the ground running. This is never a good idea. We’ve all heard the phrase beggars can’t be choosers. In hiring, no matter the circumstances, that should never apply. Give yourself permission to spend time creating your team. Yes, your team. You have a vision, and it is okay to be selective on who will join you on your path to seeing it through.

2. Choose Your Residents Wisely

Just as you are creating a culture with your first employees, so are you building a RCFE community. Your first resident is your benchmark and will set the tone for your facility in ways you might not expect. For example, if your first resident has Alzheimer’s and has repetition tendencies, then it might be difficult to admit residents who are cognitively with it.

Remember, just as you have a choice, so do your residents — and there’s a lot of factors that go into their decision to go with your RCFE facility. As facilities grow in size, culture and community are becoming increasingly important. If a resident-to-be doesn’t see a community they can engage with (even if one exists), they might very well pass. Whether it’s bound in fact or not, perception is reality.

3. Know All of Your State’s Regulations, Codes, and Policies — And Comply with Them

These laws exist for a reason, both for the protection of your residents and for yours. The quickest way to have your facility shuttered is to be out of compliance with your state’s RCFE regulations. That also means current administrators need to stay on top of continuing RCFE education classes. You went into caregiving to do just that:  give care. How can you adequately do that if you’re out of compliance, or don’t even know what codes and policies your facility is supposed to be complying with?

Moreover, having a firm grasp of your state’s regulations could very well be crucial down the line. Don’t be afraid to wield them like a shield — the first line of defense towards any future liability claims.

Need to brush up on your policy? You can always turn to experts like Assisted Living Education to help make sure you are up to date.

4. Communicate Regularly

Not only is communication vital so that everyone on your team can always be on the same page, but it’s also a regulatory requirement. The law mandates that any change of condition in the resident — say, they have a urinary tract infection or they’re more confused than usual — must be communicated to their physician and responsible party (i.e. a family member), if any.

This makes sense, of course. A change in an individual’s condition can have life or death consequences, and a lapse in communication could prevent a resident from receiving critical treatment. Shift changes present a particular challenge in this regard. There’s a potential for information to get lost in the mix in the transition between your facility’s day and night teams. Certain symptoms, such as insomnia — a potential indicator and risk factor of depression — might only present themselves at late in the evening, so it’s imperative everyone is kept in the loop, and that changes are noted in writing.

And let’s not forget your duty as a licensed RCFE Administrator to maintain communication with your State Regulators. Any time a resident experiences an unusual incident — such as a fall, an injury, or a medical emergency requiring a 911 out to the hospital — a report must be made to your Licensing Program Analyst at the Department of Social Services with within 1 business day via telephone, and within 7 days via a written report. This takes us into our next tip.

5. Document, Document, Document

Any time there is a resident incident, such as a fall, it must be documented — either internally, if it isn’t that serious, or on a State-provided form to be submitted to the DSS if it triggers a 911 call or something similar. Like the above, incidents need to be reported to the resident’s physician and responsible party, and it’s best to do this in writing so you have a paper trail.

Liability, though you might not want to think about it, should always be a concern. Thus, it’s wise to perform internal audits and random record reviews on a routine basis. You always want to be able to certify compliance if the need arises. This is where the term “defensive documentation” comes into play. When you document incidents, or anything really, specificity, precision, and descriptive detail are all musts.

Resident records (appointments included), personnel records, administrative records, dementia records — these are all things you are required to keep, keeping in mind that certain records must be secured in a HIPAA compliant fashion. As a guideline, take a look at the list of documents and records that must be kept at residential care facilities in California. Remember that every state is different, so unless your facility is located in California, what you are required to retain might be different.

6. Don’t Be Afraid to Say No

The words “this is my island” spring to mind. This facility is yours, and as an RCFE Administrator, you cannot be afraid to say no. We covered this in part in Tips #1 and #2, what to do in the beginning, but there’s a corollary on the other end of the spectrum:  what to do when an end is inevitable.

If an employee misbehaves, routinely underperforms, or puts your residents or facility in any modicum of risk (health, liability, or otherwise), then it is your duty to fire them promptly. With the safety and wellbeing of those in your care on the line, they must be your first primary concern.

But what if an individual’s medical needs exceed your facilities abilities?

It’s sad to say, but this is a quandary you will likely face dealing with residents suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s and dementia. Much as you might want to keep them in your care, your licenses might not permit it. The care they require might go beyond the scope of what you can supply. In these situations, or in cases of residents who exhibit violent behaviors or a flagrant disregard for community rules, letting go of a resident might be a necessary course of action as well.

The Essential Component of Success

Looking back on the six tips we just shared, you might notice that at their core they are all about the same thing:  Care. Caring enough to do things right. Providing the best care. Taking time to assure your level of care by maintaining compliance, and by communicating. Although there is a lot more to running a successful RCFE facility than just these 6 things, mastery of these will give you a great foundation to build your business on. And in the event that you need additional support or training, the experts here at Assisted Living Education is always here to lend a hand.

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Assisted Living Education is the premier provider of RCFE certification, RCFE classes, licensing, products and services for assisted living. Our teachers are industry professionals with many years of experience that are engaging, entertaining and highly informative. They offer RCFE consulting services and share real RCFE experience that will help you be successful in this fast growing career industry.

In California, one option for seniors 60 years or older requiring long term care is a “social model” that provides room, meals, personal care assistance, supervision, observation, housekeeping and planned activities. A Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) can care for one or more persons and must be licensed by the State of California to provide care services.

RCFEs operate as a bridge for those who require some level of assistance that prevents them from living on their own but who do not require 24-hour medical care, service, or supervision.

RCFE’s vary in size but there are basically two models: 16+ residents or 1-15 residents. The 16+ are owned or operated by Sunrise, Brookdale and Atria to name a few. The 1-15 model is typically a home in a residential area and often called a “board and care”. Unlike nursing homes, RCFEs may have licensed professionals as personnel, but it is not required to do so.

RCFE Administrator Certification and Licensing

The administrator is responsible for the care and supervision of residents, staff management, and adhering to regulations, policies and procedures. Regulations require the administrator to complete an 80-hour certification course and pass a 100 question state examination with a score of 70% or better to receive a certificate. 

The administrator must complete 40 hours of continuing education units (CEUs) every two years. Fortunately, Assisted Living Education (ALE) is one of 15 vendors that provide RCFE administrator certification classes. Additionally, the RCFE itself must be licensed. The process involves completing an RCFE license application, which ALE offers assistance with your RCFE application and licensing. A facility license is renewed annually and must be inspected by DSS yearly.

RCFE Staff Requirements

California laws require RCFE’s to ensure that the community has “sufficient staff at all times and competent to provide the services necessary to meet resident needs.” There is no detailed requirement of how a community is to interpret this regulation. 

The resident care needs indicate how many staff are required to render care. The communities with 1-15 residents usually have two to three caregivers during the day and one caregiver at night. There are no resident ratios. The administrator or a qualified designated substitute must be on-site 24 hours a day.

California regulations require the following:

• Employees who provide direct care to the residents and employees who supervise employees must be 18 years or older. 
• The administrator must be 21 years or older.
• The administrator must have a high school diploma or GED for 1-15 residents; 15 college units and one year of experience for 16-49 residents; 2 years of college and three years experience for a community with 50 or more residents. 
• At least one staff member must be CPR certified and on the premises 24 hours per day. 
• Any personnel who provide care to the residents must have first-aid certification.  
• All personnel and some volunteers must have a Criminal Record Clearance before employment approval. 
• All personnel must have a health screen and negative TB test.
• Additional staff shall be employed as necessary to perform office work, cooking, house cleaning, laundering, and maintenance of buildings, equipment and grounds. 

RCFE Staff Training Requirements

All personnel assisting residents with ADL’s must complete 20 hours of initial training prior to assisting a resident and an additional 20 hours of training within the first four weeks of employment. 

The topics include: the aging process; personal care; physical limitation; ADL’s; resident rights; medication policies and procedures; psychosocial needs of the elderly; recognizing signs and symptoms of dementia; 12 hours of dementia training; postural supports; hospice care; restricted health conditions; LGBT; elder and dependent adult abuse reporting; theft and loss; disaster training; food service and safety; and care of a bedridden resident.

Staff are also taught required subjects by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) that includes universal precautions, Hepatitis B, bloodborne pathogens, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and Safety Data Sheets (MDS).

All staff assisting residents with self-administration of medications must receive 10 hours of training for 1-15 residents and 24 hours for 16 or more residents and all communities must provide an additional 8 hours training each year.

ALE provides online training for employees that allows the employee to progress at his/her pace. The following link will provide information about ALE’s training products for staff training. 

RCFE Policies and Procedures

Once the facility is licensed, RCFEs are required to have a Plan of Operation that includes: policies and procedures for admissions; staffing plan, qualifications and duties; plan for training staff; organizational chart; sketches of the floorplan and the yard; policy for family visits and communication. ALE has created an assisted living policies and procedures manual. 

The topics covered here provide you a high-level overview of RCFE staffing requirements in California along with links to helpful resources. Thank you for the essential care RCFE’s deliver to the aging community, and we hope the information here will help you continue to achieve that goal. 

Just a cursory scroll through the RCFE Manual of Policies and Procedures from the California Department of Social Services illustrates just how many different terms you should be familiar with as an RCFE Administrator. In fact, they number in the hundreds. Wouldn’t that be a long blog post! In the interest of brevity, we wanted to share with you some of the most important. Here are the top 15 terms that you need to know if you are an RCFE Administrator or are pursuing RCFE certification. 

1. Dementia Plan of Operation:  An amendment to a Plan of Operation that details a facility’s dementia care intentions, policies, and procedures. The California Department of Social Services requires that you have in place a Dementia Plan of Operation before you can serve this fast and growing demand market.
2. Hospice Waiver Request:  The written request a licensee must submit to the DSS and be approved for in order to be permitted to retain terminally ill patients.
3. RCFE Admissions Agreement:  The contract that includes all applicable documents that a resident or their responsible guardian must sign as a condition of their admission to an RCFE.
4. RCFE Admission Package:  The full packet of documents, rules, policies, releases, and agreements, etc., that a prospective resident or their conservator must read through, sign (where applicable), and return. This package includes the aforementioned Admission Agreement.
5. RCFE Emergency Disaster Plan:  A plan, including emergency contacts and procedures, that is required by the DSS to prepare your facility staff and residents in the event of a disaster or emergency.
6. OSHA Manual for RCFE:  A manual for Residential Care Facilities to help guide compliance with OSHA safety regulations.
7. RCFE Employee Handbook:  The company policy and information manual provided to an employee by an RCFE.
8. Plan of Operation for RCFE:  The definitive operational plan and its related materials that a facility must maintain on facility and submit to a licensing agency with the license application.
9. RCFE Operations Manual:  The document of approved standard procedures that a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly must provide to its employees to ensure job functions are performed accurately, efficiently, and uniformly.
10. RCFE Staff Training Classes:  The vital training classes that all prospective and current employees must take as a condition of employment, continued or otherwise. 
11. RCFE Test Preparation:  An educational tool designed to help your study for your California Initial RCFE Administrator Certification exam.
12. RCFE Administrator:  The person designated by the licensee to oversee and manage a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly. (May also be the licensee themselves.
13. RCFE License:  The basic permit to operate a residential care facility for the elderly issued to you by the California Department of Social Services. RCFE Live CEUs:  The in-person, in-room continuing education classes (or units) that may be used to renew your RCFE and/or ARF certificate. The DSS requires that at least 20 of the 40 hours necessary for recertification be live.
14. RCFE Online CEUs:  Online continuing education classes that may be used in conjunction with the 20 required Live CEUs to fulfill the 40 hour training requirement for certificate renewal
15. Department of Social Services (DSS): the governing body in California that provides program oversite for the most vulnerable of California’s population. Part of the DSS is the Community Care Licensing Division which is in charge of licensing and regulations for RCFE’s. Due to COVID-19, there have been changes to guidelines for every RCFE administrator and staff member to follow.

Earning your RCFE Certification is so much more than understanding a few words in a blog post. It’s a life-changing undertaking, and we’re here to guide you along the way. Enroll with Assisted Living Education today.

If you are interested in learning more about important terms, concepts, and informational resources related to running an RCFE, please check out our RCFE comprehensive glossary page.  This comprehensive list will point you in the right direction for getting up to speed with the latest industry terms and knowledge needed for RCFE certification and licensure.

We always welcome your feedback, and if you have other important terms you would like added to the list, please let us know.  Assisted Living Education is a recognized leader in the industry, and our instructors have years of professional RCFE experience that will help ensure your success in this burgeoning industry.

2020 Update

By the year 2035 it’s projected that there will be more than 78 million person ages 65 and older living in the United States, up almost 60% from the 46 million in 2016, according to population data. Every state is expected to see massive growth as baby boomers age into retirement, but none will see an increase quite like California:  by 2036 the state will see more 10,000,000, and comprise 23% of our population.

Planning for an aging population is no longer conjecture. It is an absolute necessity. Doing so requires that we have the infrastructure in place to care for those who will need it, which means more licensed care facilities, more available beds, and more trained and certified RCFE administrators.

Getting there will not be easy, and setting out to open your own RCFE is not for the faint of heart. It’s a significant business decision, but one that carries with it one of the most rewarding acts of service one can provide:  caring for those who came before us. Here’s how you go about opening and RCFE in the state of California.

1. Find a qualified, certified Administrator.  

The first and most important step. Without having a qualified, certified administrator on your team, none of the rest can follow. In all likelihood, you’re probably intent to become certified yourself, but how do you go about doing that?

To become certified you must first take the DSS-required 80 hour Certification Course, and then take and pass the DSS-administered 100 question test with a minimum passing score of 70%. This test must be taken within 60 days of you completing the 80-hour course, after which you must submit the required paperwork and fee within 30 days of passing the test.

Not everyone is qualified to be an administrator of your facility. The general requirements call for a high school diploma or equivalent and being at least 21 years of age. For a 16-49 bed facility, you must have passed at least 15 college units and have at least 1 year of experience working in an RCFE or equivalent. To be an administrator of a 50+ bed facility, you’ll need to have a minimum of 2 years of college under your belt, and have at least 3 years of experience working in an RCFE or equivalent.

Are you qualified, and ready to take the DSS-required RCFE initial certification course for administrators?

2.  Secure the physical plant.

It will sound obvious in hindsight, but you can’t be the administrator of a residential facility for the elderly if you don’t have the actual facility part locked down. In order to submit a license application for your facility, you must show “control of property” — that is, proof that you either own the property outright, that you are either in the process of buying the property or that you will be leasing/renting the property.

3. Contact your local fire marshal for a pre-inspection.

The sooner you do this, the better! It’s possible that the fire marshal will charge you a nominal fee, but this inspection will let you know early on if you will need to make costly modifications to your home/facility in order to be compliant with local fire codes and state regulations. Money well spent! If you don’t make these modifications, you won’t be able to get the maximum number of non-ambulatory rooms or apartments out of your facility. You’ve already come this far! Maximize your investment by making these modifications, or find another location!

4. Take the online Orientation course with DSS.

You must take the DSS RCFE course.  You only need to take this course once. This is done through the DSS website, and then submit a copy of your orientation certificate.

5. Submit a license application to DSS.

Now we’re getting to the fun stuff. The next step in this process is to prepare and submit an RCFE license application for DSS, including parts A and B, along with the applicable fee. We won’t sugarcoat it:  this is not like filling out an application for a driver’s license. The Applications Instructions alone are 22 pages in length, and all told you’re looking at hundreds of pages to gather information for, prepare, and fill out. Attempting this on your own is a recipe for disaster — just one error could delay your facility’s opening by months! Instead, it’s smart to consider having yours completed by a professional. Our team has licensed hundreds of small and large RCFE’s, and worked with DSS licensing personnel for over 15 years. We have never had an application rejected due to error!

Do you have the required 3 months’ of operating costs in the bank? You must open a bank account in your facility name and deposit at least 3 months’ operating costs into it. The DSS will verify this in the process of reviewing your application.

Be patient. This process may take 4-5 months.

6. Market your Facility.

Congratulations, you’ve submitted your application! Now it is time to start meeting with the potential residents who fill your facility once you are licensed. You are NOT allowed to move residents into your facility until you secure the license from DSS. But DO start looking for residents. Don’t wait until you secure the license, because that will just be time lost! In our post detailing 6 Steps for a Successful RCFE we talked about the importance of choosing your residents wisely. Remember, your first resident is your benchmark and will set the tone for your facility in ways you might not expect.

7. DSS will schedule a Component II (face to face) meeting at their office.

This is step two in a three-part component process that must be completed by all new licensees. Once your application has been reviewed, you will be contacted by the DSS for a one-on-one with the the reviewing analyst.

Component I was the orientation course you took in #4 on this list, and Component III involves  “category specific training and discussion in areas not often understood by new licensees intended to promote successful facility operation.” Both components II and III will be done once DSS accepts your license application, but prior to actual licensure. These are all essential aspects of the license application process.

8. DSS will schedule a pre-licensing visit to inspect your facility.

You’re so close! You’re almost there! A pre-licensing inspection is by the DSS as the last step in the RCFE license application review process. DSS will send you a checklist for you to complete prior to this visit. Make sure you complete this checklist fully, and have it available for their review when they come to visit.  Note: the DSS will NOT conduct a pre-licensing until your fire marshal grants their approval.

9. Hire staff and train them accordingly.

Putting together your team and training them accordingly is arguably the most important step in this entire process. We’ve discussed before the perils of fire-drilling the hiring process in our post about The 10 Biggest Mistakes RCFE’s Make. You aren’t just looking for warm bodies to fill these important caretaking positions. You want a passionate team of people who want to come in every single day intent one making the lives of your residents better. Remember, you don’t want to wait until you are licensed to build your team, because you will not be able to move in and care for residents without staff! Once you’ve found the right people, make sure that they are properly trained and meet all the state requirements. And don’t forget the importance of ongoing CEU training for RCFE administrators and staff as well!

10. DSS issues you a facility license.

You did it! Yes, you! Let that feeling of pride wash over you. You are now the proud administrator of a fully licensed RCFE. This is everything you’ve worked so hard toward, and it’s time to open your doors. Now you can move in your residents that are on your waiting list!

The process to opening an RCFE facility in California may be long, but it’s rewarding. It’s okay if it takes you a year or more to get your facility off the ground — it’s not a race, and in the end it will all be worth it. The senior care industry is among the fastest growing industries in the country, and California is no different. We must be prepared to meet the needs of seniors with the best care possible. More growth, means more new facilities.

Update for 2020 RCFE Regulations & Operations During COVID-19

Given the population’s nature of an RCFE facility, the threat of contracting and spreading the coronavirus proves a tremendous challenge. Beyond the “new normal” operating procedures of enforced social distancing, mask and glove wearing, and ongoing temperature checks to better protect the residents, the staff must also take even greater precautions for their own protection. 

At the end of May, 2020, the Center for Disease Control released enhanced guidelines for every RCFE administrator and staff member to follow in the face of the pandemic. These include:

• New regulations about visitor restrictions and updated outlines on group activities, especially as some facilities start to relax their previously mandated restrictions.
• In addition, new information was released regarding the best practices for tracking infections and preventing infection of others in a systematic way.

This current contagion of COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges both for aspiring RCFE administrators and long-standing ones. But never has the need for dedicated RCFE workers been more urgent. Getting your RCFE license now will go a long way to helping our senior population today and tomorrow.

The need is there. Are you ready to provide it?

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Assisted Living Education is the leading provider of RCFE certification classes, licensing, products and services for assisted living. Our teachers are industry professionals with many years of experience that are engaging, entertaining and highly informative.