HB 11: Health; sufficient staff for carrying out food and nutrition services at a long-term care facility; provide

Georgia law currently does not spell out staffing requirements for food and nutrition services at long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, personal care homes, assisted living communities, and hospice facilities. This bill adds a new section to the state health code (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 7) that sets those requirements. Facilities would have to employ enough staff with the right skills to handle food and nutrition services, based on residents' needs, numbers, and health conditions. They would need a licensed dietitian, whether full-time, part-time, or as a consultant. If they do not have a full-time dietitian, they must designate a director of food and nutrition services who meets specific credential requirements (such as being a certified dietary manager or having relevant education or experience) and who gets regular consultations from a licensed dietitian. Facilities must also provide enough support staff, and the Department of Community Health would write rules to carry out the law.

• Requires long-term care facilities to employ enough staff with proper skills to run food and nutrition services based on resident needs and acuity.
• Requires facilities to employ a licensed dietitian on a full-time, part-time, or consultant basis.
• Requires facilities without a full-time dietitian to designate a qualified director of food and nutrition services who meets one of several listed credential options.
• Requires that designated director to receive frequent consultations from a licensed dietitian.
• Requires facilities to provide sufficient support personnel to safely carry out food and nutrition services.
• Directs the state health department to create rules and regulations to implement these requirements.

Long-term care facilities in Georgia, including skilled nursing homes, intermediate care homes, personal care homes, assisted living communities, community living arrangements, and inpatient hospice facilities, along with their residents, dietitians, and food service staff who would need to meet new staffing and credentialing standards.

Residents of nursing homes and similar facilities depend on proper nutrition and food safety management. Setting minimum staffing and qualification standards could change hiring practices at these facilities and give residents and families a clearer baseline for what nutrition oversight to expect.

• New Code section 31-7-12.9(a) defines key terms including certified dietary manager, certified food service manager, licensed dietitian, and long-term care facility.
• Subsection (b) requires facilities to employ sufficient staff with appropriate skills based on resident assessments, care plans, and population acuity.
• Subsection (c) requires employment of a licensed dietitian or, absent a full-time dietitian, designation of a qualified director of food and nutrition services meeting one of five listed credential paths.
• Subsection (c)(2) requires that designated director to receive frequently scheduled consultations from a licensed dietitian.
• Subsection (d) requires sufficient support personnel to safely carry out food and nutrition service functions.
• Subsection (e) directs the department to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the section.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-15House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-14House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-13House Hopper (House)

• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)Primary sponsor
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)

• long-term care
• nursing home staffing
• food and nutrition services
• assisted living regulation
• health care licensing