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The Florida Senate

CS/CS/SB 1460 — Stroke Centers

by Appropriations Committee; Health Policy Committee; and Senators Book and Powell

This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.

Prepared by: Health Policy Committee (HP)

The bill revises the method by which a hospital may qualify as a stroke center that the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) must list on its website and provide to the Department of Health (DOH). The bill also adds a new type of stroke center, the thrombectomy-capable stroke center (TSC), to the current types of stroke centers referenced in the Florida Statutes.

The bill requires a hospital to submit documentation verifying its certification as a stroke center, which may include offering and performing mechanical endovascular therapy consistent with standards identified by a nationally-recognized, guidelines-based organization approved by the AHCA. The bill prohibits a hospital from advertising that it is a state-listed stroke center unless the hospital has submitted the required verifying documentation to the AHCA. If a hospital chooses not to be certified, or has not attained certification, the hospital must notify the AHCA and the agency must immediately remove the hospital from the stroke center list.

The bill directs the DOH to include data from TSCs in its annual list of stroke centers to be provided to the medical directors of licensed emergency medical service providers and directs the medical directors to develop protocols which must consider the capability of an emergency receiving facility to improve outcomes for patients suspected of having an emergent large vessel occlusion.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2019.

Vote: Senate 39-0; House 114-0