Trusted Independent Living Communities in North Dakota

Assisted living facilities in North Dakota are regulated by the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, specifically through its Health Facilities Division. In North Dakota, there are two main categories of residential care: assisted living facilities and basic care facilities.

Key regulations include:

1. Licensing requirements – All assisted living facilities must be licensed by the state and undergo regular inspections to ensure compliance with state standards.
2. Service requirements – Facilities must provide certain core services, including 24-hour staffing, meals, housekeeping, and personal care services. They must clearly document which services they offer.
3. Staffing standards – While North Dakota doesn’t mandate specific staff-to-resident ratios, facilities must maintain sufficient staff to meet residents’ needs. Staff must receive appropriate training and undergo background checks.
4. Resident assessment – Facilities must conduct thorough assessments of each resident’s needs upon admission and periodically thereafter.
5. Admission criteria – Facilities must have clear criteria for who they can admit and retain based on the level of care they can provide.
6. Medication management – Protocols govern how medications are administered and stored.
7. Resident rights – Facilities must protect residents’ rights to privacy, dignity, and autonomy.

The Department of Health and Human Services conducts both routine and complaint-based inspections. Facilities must report certain incidents, such as accidents or allegations of abuse. Inspection results are available to the public. Consumers can file complaints with the Health Facilities Division, which investigates allegations of non-compliance or resident mistreatment.

As stated in the Disabled in Action: “And so, to me, the independent living movement is really all about a disability rights, disability control movement, where we are looking at every aspect of what needs to be changed in order to allow people to live their lives where disability isn’t a handicap and I think you know we have the centers as one component of what goes on with the independent living movement, disability rights movement.”
Judith HeumannDisability rights activist. She served as Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education under President Clinton, and later as Special Advisor for International Disability Rights in the Obama administration.