OAR 411-057-0155: Staff Training Requirements

(1) A memory care community must ensure staff who provide support to residents with dementia have a basic understanding and fundamental knowledge of the residents' emotional and unique health care needs prior to providing services to residents. The training requirements for staff who work in memory care communities are described in the following sections. (2) ALL STAFF TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. All staff who work in memory care communities licensed as residential care facilities or assisted living facilities must complete the following: (a) Orientation as required in OAR 411-054-0070(3) before performing any job duties. (b) Pre-service dementia care training as required before independently providing personal care or other services. The dementia care training must address these topics: (A) Education on the dementia disease process, including the progression of the disease, memory loss and psychiatric and behavioral symptoms. (B) Techniques for understanding, communicating and responding to distressful behavioral symptoms; including but not limited to, reducing the use of antipsychotic medications for non-standard uses when responding to distressful behavioral symptoms. (C) Strategies for addressing social needs of persons with dementia and engaging them with meaningful activities; (D) Information concerning specific aspects of dementia care and ensuring safety of residents with dementia including, but not limited to, how to: (i) Identify and address pain; (ii) Provide food and fluid; (iii) Prevent wandering and elopement; (iv) Use a person-centered approach. (c) Additional pre-service training topics that must be completed before independently providing personal care to residents: (A) Environmental factors that are important to resident’s well-being (e.g. noise, staff interactions, lighting, room temperature, etc.); (B) Family support and the role the family may have in the care of the resident; (C) How to recognize behaviors that indicate a change in the resident’s condition and report behaviors that require on-going assessment. (3) DIRECT CARE STAFF TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. Direct care staff must be directly supervised by a qualified staff person until they have successfully demonstrated satisfactory performance in any task assigned in the provision of individualized resident services. In addition to training required for all staff as described in paragraph (2): (a) Before independently providing personal care or other services to residents, direct care staff must complete training on: (A) How to provide personal care to a resident with dementia, including an orientation to the resident and the resident’s service plan, as required in OAR 411-054-0070(4). (B) The use of supportive devices with restraining qualities in memory care communities. (b) Within 30 days after hire, direct care staff must complete training as outlined in OAR 411-054-0070(5). (c) Direct care staff who work in memory care communities licensed as residential care facilities or assisted living facilities must complete a total of 16 hours of in-service training annually. The six hours of annual dementia care training required pursuant to OAR 411-054-0070(6) may be included in the 16 hours of in-service training. Annual in-service hours required of each staff are due by the anniversary date of that person’s hire. All completed trainings must be documented by the facility. (4) NURSING FACILITY STAFF. Staff who work in memory care communities licensed as nursing facilities must complete the following: (a) Orientation as outlined in OAR 411-086-0310, 42 CFR § 483.95 (F 943). (b) Pre-service dementia care training as outlined in paragraphs (2)(b) and (c) and paragraph (3)(a) of this section. (c) A total of 16 hours of annual in-service training must be completed by direct care staff only. Four of the 16 hours must be dementia care training and may be included in the 16 hours of in-service training. Annual in-service hours required of each staff are due by the anniversary date of that person’s hire. All completed trainings must be documented by the facility. (5) Persons providing or overseeing the training of staff must have experience and knowledge in the care of individuals with dementia. (6) The memory care community must have a method for determining and documenting each staff person’s competency of training in accordance with the licensing rules. All training must be documented and available to the Department upon request.