Iowa § 231C.2 - 231C.2 Definitions.

§ 231C.2. 231C.2 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Adult day services” means adult day services as defined in section 231D.1. 2. “Assisted living” means provision of housing with services which may include but are not limited to health-related care, personal care, and assistance with instrumental activities of daily living to three or more tenants in a physical structure which provides a homelike environment. “Assisted living” also includes encouragement of family involvement, tenant self-direction, and tenant participation in decisions that emphasize choice, dignity, privacy, individuality, shared risk, and independence. “Assisted living” includes the provision of housing and assistance with instrumental activities of daily living only if personal care or health-related care is also included. “Assisted living” includes twenty-four hours per day response staff to meet scheduled and unscheduled or unpredictable needs in a manner that promotes maximum dignity and independence and provides supervision, safety, and security. 3. “Assisted living program” or “program” means an entity that provides assisted living. 4. “Department” means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing or the department’s designee. 5. “Governmental unit” means the state, or any county, municipality, or other political subdivision or any department, division, board, or other agency of any of these entities. 6. “Health-related care” means services provided by a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse, on a part-time or intermittent basis, and services provided by other licensed health care professionals, on a part-time or intermittent basis. 7. “Instrumental activities of daily living” means those activities that reflect the tenant’s ability to perform household and other tasks necessary to meet the tenant’s needs within the community, which may include but are not limited to shopping, cooking, housekeeping, chores, and traveling within the community. 8. “Medication setup” means assistance with various steps of medication administration to support a tenant’s autonomy, which may include but is not limited to routine prompting, cueing and reminding, opening containers or packaging at the direction of the tenant, reading instructions or other label information, or transferring medications from the original container into suitable medication dispensing containers, reminder containers, or medication cups. 9. “Occupancy agreement” means a written agreement entered into between an assisted living program and a tenant that clearly describes the rights and responsibilities of the assisted living program and a tenant, and other information required by rule. “Occupancy agreement” may include a separate signed lease and signed service agreement. 10. “Personal care” means assistance with the essential activities of daily living which may include but are not limited to transferring, bathing, personal hygiene, dressing, grooming, and housekeeping that are essential to the health and welfare of the tenant. 11. “Recognized accrediting entity” means a nationally recognized accrediting entity that the department recognizes as having specific assisted living program standards equivalent to the standards established by the department for assisted living programs. 12. “Significant change” means a major decline or improvement in the tenant’s status which does not normally resolve itself without further interventions by staff or by implementing standard disease-related clinical interventions that have an impact on the tenant’s mental, physical, or functional health status. 13. “Substantial compliance” means a level of compliance with this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter such that any identified insufficiencies pose no greater risk to tenant health or safety than the potential for causing minimal harm. “Substantial compliance” constitutes compliance with the rules of this chapter. 14. “Tenant” means an individual who receives assisted living services through a certified assisted living program. 15. “Tenant advocate” means the office of long-term care ombudsman established in section 231.42. Thu Dec 11 19:04:49 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 231C.2 (22, 0) §231C.2, ASSISTED LIVING PROGRAMS 2 16. “Tenant’s legal representative” means a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of a tenant or a person acting pursuant to a power of attorney. 96 Acts, ch 1192, §2; 2000 Acts, ch 1004, §14, 22; 2003 Acts, ch 165, §19; 2003 Acts, ch 166, §8, 9; 2005 Acts, ch 60, §3 – 5, 21; 2005 Acts, ch 179, §121; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §161; 2009 Acts, ch 156, §11; 2011 Acts, ch 83, §1; 2013 Acts, ch 18, §31; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1929 Referred to in §135C.33, 135Q.1, 142D.2, 144D.1, 144F.1, 231.4, 231C.11A, 441.21 Thu Dec 11 19:04:49 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 231C.2 (22, 0)