Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1658
By Senator Detert
23-01700A-11 20111658__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman
3 Program; amending ss. 400.0060 and 400.0067, F.S.;
4 removing references to onsite administrative
5 assessments and conforming cross-references to changes
6 made by the act; amending s. 400.0061, F.S.; revising
7 legislative intent; amending s. 400.0069, F.S.;
8 providing additional duties of the local long-term
9 care ombudsman councils; amending s. 400.0071, F.S.;
10 revising rules relating to State Long-Term Care
11 Ombudsman Program complaint procedures; repealing s.
12 400.0074, F.S., relating to a requirement that local
13 ombudsman councils conduct onsite administrative
14 assessments; amending s. 400.0081, F.S.; requiring
15 written consent of a resident of a long-term care
16 facility for release of medical records; repealing s.
17 400.0089, F.S., relating to data reports regarding
18 complaints about and conditions in long-term care
19 facilities; amending s. 400.19, F.S.; revising
20 conditions under which the Agency for Health Care
21 Administration is required to conduct unannounced
22 onsite facility reviews; amending s. 400.235, F.S.;
23 eliminating the role of the State Long-Term Care
24 Ombudsman Council in evaluating a nursing facility for
25 the Gold Seal Program; providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Subsections (2) through (10) of section
30 400.0060, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (1)
31 through (9), respectively, and present subsection (1) of that
32 section is amended to read:
33 400.0060 Definitions.—When used in this part, unless the
34 context clearly dictates otherwise, the term:
35 (1) “Administrative assessment” means a review of
36 conditions in a long-term care facility which impact the rights,
37 health, safety, and welfare of residents with the purpose of
38 noting needed improvement and making recommendations to enhance
39 the quality of life for residents.
40 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 400.0061, Florida
41 Statutes, is amended to read:
42 400.0061 Legislative findings and intent; long-term care
43 facilities.—
44 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to
45 utilize voluntary citizen ombudsman councils under the
46 leadership of the ombudsman, and through them to operate an
47 ombudsman program which shall, without interference by any
48 executive agency, undertake to discover, investigate, and
49 determine the presence of conditions or individuals which
50 constitute a threat to the rights, health, safety, or welfare of
51 the residents of long-term care facilities. To ensure that the
52 effectiveness and efficiency of such investigations are not
53 impeded by advance notice or delay, the Legislature intends that
54 the ombudsman and ombudsman councils and their designated
55 representatives not be required to obtain warrants in order to
56 enter into a long-term care facility to conduct the duties of
57 the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Long
58 Term Care Ombudsman Council, or a local long-term care ombudsman
59 council or conduct investigations or onsite administrative
60 assessments of long-term care facilities. It is the further
61 intent of the Legislature that the environment in long-term care
62 facilities be conducive to the dignity and independence of
63 residents and that investigations by ombudsman councils shall
64 further the enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations that
65 safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of residents.
66 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
67 400.0067, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
68 400.0067 State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council; duties;
69 membership.—
70 (2) The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall:
71 (b) Serve as an appellate body in receiving from the local
72 councils complaints not resolved at the local level. Any
73 individual member or members of the state council may enter any
74 long-term care facility involved in an appeal, pursuant to the
75 conditions specified in s. 400.0074(2).
76 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 400.0069, Florida
77 Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (h) and (i) are added to
78 subsection (2) of that section, to read:
79 400.0069 Local long-term care ombudsman councils; duties;
80 membership.—
81 (2) The duties of the local councils are to:
82 (h) Ensure that residents have regular, timely access to
83 the ombudsman through visitations and that residents and
84 complainants receive timely responses to their complaints.
85 (i) Provide technical support for the development of
86 resident and family councils to protect the well-being and
87 rights of residents.
88 (3) In order to carry out the duties specified in
89 subsection (2), a member of a local council is authorized to
90 enter any long-term care facility without notice or first
91 obtaining a warrant, subject to the provisions of s.
92 400.0074(2).
93 Section 5. Section 400.0071, Florida Statutes, is amended
94 to read:
95 400.0071 State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program complaint
96 procedures.—The department shall adopt rules implementing state
97 and local complaint procedures. The rules must include
98 procedures for:
99 (1) Receiving complaints made by or on behalf of long-term
100 care facility residents against a long-term care facility or an
101 employee of a long-term care facility.
102 (2) Conducting complaint investigations on behalf of long
103 term care facility residents of a long-term care facility or an
104 employee of a long-term care facility subsequent to receiving a
105 complaint.
106 (3) Conducting onsite administrative assessments of long
107 term care facilities.
108 Section 6. Section 400.0074, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
109 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
110 400.0081, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
111 400.0081 Access to facilities, residents, and records.—
112 (1) A long-term care facility shall provide the office, the
113 state council and its members, and the local councils and their
114 members access to:
115 (b) Medical and social records of a resident for review as
116 necessary to investigate or resolve a complaint, if:
117 1. The office has the written permission of the resident or
118 the legal representative of the resident and presents that
119 permission to the long-term care facility; or
120 2. The resident is unable to consent to the review and has
121 no legal representative.
122 Section 8. Section 400.0089, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
123 Section 9. Subsection (4) of section 400.19, Florida
124 Statutes, is amended to read:
125 400.19 Right of entry and inspection.—
126 (4) The agency shall conduct unannounced onsite facility
127 reviews following written verification of licensee noncompliance
128 in instances in which a long-term care ombudsman council,
129 pursuant to ss. 400.0071 and 400.0075, has received a complaint
130 and has documented deficiencies in resident care or in the
131 physical plant of the facility that threaten the health, safety,
132 or security of residents, or when the agency documents through
133 inspection that conditions in a facility present a direct or
134 indirect threat to the health, safety, or security of residents.
135 However, the agency shall conduct unannounced onsite reviews
136 every 3 months of each facility while the facility has a
137 conditional license. Deficiencies related to physical plant do
138 not require followup reviews after the agency has determined
139 that correction of the deficiency has been accomplished and that
140 the correction is of the nature that continued compliance can be
141 reasonably expected.
142 Section 10. Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (5) of
143 section 400.235, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
144 400.235 Nursing home quality and licensure status; Gold
145 Seal Program.—
146 (5) Facilities must meet the following additional criteria
147 for recognition as a Gold Seal Program facility:
148 (f) Evidence an outstanding record regarding the number and
149 types of substantiated complaints reported to the State Long
150 Term Care Ombudsman Council within the 30 months preceding
151 application for the program.
152 (f)(g) Provide targeted inservice training provided to meet
153 training needs identified by internal or external quality
154 assurance efforts.
155
156 A facility assigned a conditional licensure status may not
157 qualify for consideration for the Gold Seal Program until after
158 it has operated for 30 months with no class I or class II
159 deficiencies and has completed a regularly scheduled relicensure
160 survey.
161 Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.