In an afternoon trip to the Levittown Senior Center on Newbridge Road, Governor George E. Pataki signed a landmark Assisted Living Bill into law, providing senior citizens with greater consumer protection and improved long-term care options.

Over 100 senior citizens packed the community room at the center on Tuesday, Oct. 26, sporting bright orange shirts handed out by AARP representatives that stated "Protect Assisted Living Residents." Supervisor Kate Murray made the opening remarks, acknowledging that the day was great for senior citizens across the state, as well as the Town of Hempstead. According to Murray, the township is the largest in the country, boasting 760,000 residents.

"Protecting senior citizens is a key priority for us in the Town of Hempstead," Murray said. "It is uniquely appropriate that this bill be signed in Levittown, a community built for World War II veterans and their families. Many of these veterans and their families have approached the time in their lives when they will be considering assisted living facilities."

Up until this point, the assisted living industry was not really regulated and in some instances facilities operated without any licensure or state surveillance. This law establishes the Assisted Living Reform Act to fill gaps in adult residential services and appropriately expand the range of services already provided. The law essentially achieves two main objectives:

• It requires certain adult residences that are currently unlicensed (known as 'look alike' facilities) to become subject to state regulation and oversight.

• It requires any residence that wishes to market itself as assisted living to seek an additional licensure as an Assisted Living Residence.

The law also establishes rigid new fines of up to $1,000 per violation per day for operations that fail to adhere to the new standards. Stronger consumer protections were also put into place, including a requirement that assisted living residences use "plain language" contracts that fully disclose a residence's services, fees and policies.

Murray thanked Governor Pataki for his support and then introduced Senator Kemp Hannon, who not only represents Levittown, but also chairs the Senate Health Committee. Hannon has been a key supporter during this process.

"Assisted living has become an integral part of long-term health care services here on Long Island and across New York State, necessitating protections for residents and consumers," Hannon said. "With this new legislation, we are recognizing this continuum of long-term care and simultaneously establishing safeguards and disclosures to provide the highest quality of care and services to all of our seniors."

Back in 1999, Governor Pataki introduced this bill to change the law and require that all of those homes that seek to call themselves assisted living facilities have to be licensed and regulated and the residents there had to have a Bill of Rights to protect them. Problems getting the act through the state assembly was what caused the five-year delay.

"One of the things we want you [senior citizens] to have, is the broadest range of housing opportunities," Governor Pataki said. "We want you to have the choice to be able to live in the facility, the home or the housing that best meets your needs every day."

Empathizing with the everyday struggles of senior citizens, Governor Pataki said that he wants them to be able to reside in their own homes, hence the creation of the STAR program. He also wants to make sure that if remaining in one's own home isn't feasible, that senior citizens always have a place to live.

"If these places are going to be offering you assistance, if they are going to be providing support or help to you, that they're held accountable," Governor Pataki said. "They can't advertise and say that they're an assisted living facility when they don't have any supervision or they don't have the onsite monitoring."

According to AARP, assisted living is the fastest growing type of senior housing in the nation, costing older New Yorkers between $2,500 and $6,500 a month. Suffolk County AARP Chapter president Bill Hall was also a moving force behind getting this law passed.

"This law will help ensure New Yorkers have the ability to age safely in assisted living facilities in New York," said Hall.

"This is something to study and emulate and I hope it's done so across the country," said Suffolk County Assemblyman Steve Englebright.

For more information visit www.state.ny.us or www.aarp.org/ny.