BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 528
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 14, 2003

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                              Darrell Steinberg, Chair

                     AB 528 (Mullin) - As Amended:  May 1, 2003 

          Policy Committee:                             Human  
          ServicesVote:  5-0
                       
          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY 

          This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to  
          encourage Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) to  
          create programs and activities to mitigate the effects of  
          sundown syndrome. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable costs to DSS to request that RCFE emphasize or  
          increase certain kinds of activities.   

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill requires DSS to encourage the use of  
            activities to lessen the occurrence of "sundown syndrome" in  
            certain RCFE patients. Various physical activities and  
            programs can help decrease the effects of sundown syndrome.

           2)Sundown syndrome  , typically exhibited by Alzheimer's patients,  
            is characterized by periodic restlessness and agitation in  
            late afternoon or early evening. 

          While the exact cause of sundown syndrome is not known, experts  
            believe there are several contributing factors. These may  
            include physical exhaustion or a shift in the internal body  
            clock caused by the change from daylight to dark. Because late  
            afternoon and early evening are times that many people are  
            used to being active, Alzheimer's patients may want to  
            increase activity levels, whether activities are available or  
            not. This bill would require DSS to encourage activities that  
            would lessen the impact of sundown syndrome, such as walks and  








                                                                  AB 528
                                                                  Page  2

            other physical activities. 

           3)Alzheimer's  . An estimated 50-80 percent of skilled nursing  
            facility and intermediate care facility residents are  
            diagnosed with Alzheimer's and other dementia-related  
            diseases. 

           4)Related Legislation  . AB 1347 (Pescetti) Chapter 339, Statutes  
            of 2001, established dementia-specific orientation and  
            training program requirements for skilled nursing facility  
            (SNF) and intermediate care facility (ICF) staff. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081