(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Eden Alternative Grant Assistance Program Act of 1999.”

(b)

(1) The general assembly recognizes the need to improve and enhance the quality of life of the elderly who reside in health care facilities statewide, and acknowledges that, in order to provide the quality of life deserved by our elderly, changes have to be made in the way facilities operate. The general assembly further recognizes that there is one (1) nationally recognized program that has been proven to successfully improve and enhance the quality of life in residential health care facilities, that states nationwide are adopting and striving to implement the Eden Alternative program in their respective states and that elderly Tennesseans should not be deprived of the enhanced quality of life this program offers.

(2) It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting this section and related provisions to provide for the establishment and implementation of a pilot program to assist facilities in Tennessee in implementing the Eden Alternative program to enhance the lives of facility residents and staff, while demonstrating the effectiveness of the Eden Alternative method and encouraging its adoption statewide.

(c)

(1) In addition to any other lawful use of the nursing home resident protection trust fund, the fund may be used to fund a pilot grant program to assist in the implementation of Eden Alternative enhanced quality of life projects in nursing homes, assisted-care living facilities and homes for the aged in Tennessee.

(2) The commissioner is authorized to establish a grants application and award process to be developed in conjunction with the state's Eden Alternative coalition. The grant application and award process shall be established and conducted in accordance with accepted state and federal contracting practices.

(3) Each grant application shall be reviewed and evaluated by the grant selection committee of the Eden Alternative coalition.

(4) The commissioner shall be responsible for awarding grants under this section.

(5) No more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) shall be expended from the nursing home protection trust fund in any fiscal year to finance the program authorized by this section. No more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall be expended from that sum in any fiscal year to finance the facility grant assistance program authorized by this section. No more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall be expended from that sum in any fiscal year to finance education and research activities conducted by the Eden Alternative coalition in conjunction with the department.

(6) A maximum of ten (10) Eden Alternative grants, of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) each, shall be awarded in any fiscal year. Of the ten (10) facilities selected to receive grant awards annually, five (5) shall be nursing homes, three (3) shall be assisted-care living facilities, and two (2) shall be homes for the aged.

(7) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate this grant program. Regulations promulgated under this section shall be developed in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

(d) The commissioner shall establish and maintain evaluation procedures to assess the availability of revenues for the program and the viability of such program on a yearly basis, and shall determine whether such program shall be fully funded or partially funded with resources available.