The Florida Senate

400.191  Availability, distribution, and posting of reports and records.--

(1)  The agency shall provide information to the public about all of the licensed nursing home facilities operating in the state. The agency shall, within 60 days after an annual inspection visit or within 30 days after any interim visit to a facility, send copies of the inspection reports to the district long-term care ombudsman council, the agency's local office, and a public library or the county seat for the county in which the facility is located.

(2)  The agency shall provide additional information in consumer-friendly printed and electronic formats to assist consumers and their families in comparing and evaluating nursing home facilities.

(a)  The agency shall provide an Internet site which shall include at least the following information:

1.  A list by name and address of all nursing home facilities in this state.

2.  Whether such nursing home facilities are proprietary or nonproprietary.

3.  The licensure status of each facility.

4.  The ownership history of each facility.

5.  The name of the owner or owners of each facility and whether the facility is a part of a corporation owning or operating more than one nursing facility in this state.

6.  Performance, regulatory, and enforcement information about the corporation, as well as the facility.

7.  The total number of beds in each facility.

8.  The number of private and semiprivate rooms in each facility.

9.  The religious affiliation, if any, of each facility.

10.  The languages spoken by the administrator and staff of each facility.

11.  Whether or not each facility accepts Medicare or Medicaid recipients.

12.  Recreational and other programs available at each facility.

13.  For nursing homes certified for Medicare or Medicaid, information from the Minimum Data Set system of the federal Health Care Financing Administration about the clinical performance of each facility, including information related to the nursing home quality indicators.

14.  Information about the licensure status and regulatory history of each facility.

15.  Special care units or programs offered at each facility.

16.  Whether the facility is a part of a retirement community that offers other services pursuant to part III, part IV, or part V.

17.  The results of consumer and family satisfaction surveys for each facility.

18.  The licensure status and rating history for the past 5 years for each facility.

19.  Survey and deficiency information contained on the Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) system of the federal Health Care Financing Administration, including annual survey, revisit, and complaint survey information, for each facility for the past 3 years. For noncertified nursing homes, state survey and deficiency information, including annual survey, revisit, and complaint survey information for the past 3 years shall be provided.

(b)  The agency shall provide the following information in printed form:

1.  A list by name and address of all nursing home facilities in this state.

2.  Whether such nursing home facilities are proprietary or nonproprietary and their current ownership.

3.  The licensure status of each facility.

4.  The total number of beds, and of private and semiprivate rooms, in each facility.

5.  The religious affiliation, if any, of each facility.

6.  The languages spoken by the administrator and staff of each facility.

7.  Whether or not each facility accepts Medicare or Medicaid recipients.

8.  Recreational programs, special care units, and other programs available at each facility.

9.  A summary of information from the Minimum Data Set system of the federal Health Care Financing Administration about the clinical performance of each facility.

10.  Information about the licensure status and regulatory history of each facility.

11.  The results of consumer and family satisfaction surveys for each facility.

12.  The Internet address for the site where more detailed information can be seen.

13.  A statement advising consumers that each facility will have its own policies and procedures related to protecting resident property.

(3)  Each nursing home facility licensee shall maintain as public information, available upon request, records of all cost and inspection reports pertaining to that facility that have been filed with, or issued by, any governmental agency. Copies of such reports shall be retained in such records for not less than 5 years from the date the reports are filed or issued.

(4)  Any records of a nursing home facility determined by the agency to be necessary and essential to establish lawful compliance with any rules or standards shall be made available to the agency on the premises of the facility.

(5)  Every nursing home facility licensee shall:

(a)  Post, in a sufficient number of prominent positions in the nursing home so as to be accessible to all residents and to the general public, a concise summary of the last inspection report pertaining to the nursing home and issued by the agency, with references to the page numbers of the full reports, noting any deficiencies found by the agency and the actions taken by the licensee to rectify such deficiencies and indicating in such summaries where the full reports may be inspected in the nursing home.

(b)  Upon request, provide to any person who has completed a written application with an intent to be admitted to, or to any resident of, such nursing home, or to any relative, spouse, or guardian of such person, a copy of the last inspection report pertaining to the nursing home and issued by the agency, provided the person requesting the report agrees to pay a reasonable charge to cover copying costs.

History.--s. 6, ch. 76-201; ss. 2, 12, ch. 80-198; s. 250, ch. 81-259; s. 2, ch. 81-318; ss. 6, 22, ch. 82-182; ss. 27, 79, 83, ch. 83-181; s. 16, ch. 90-347; s. 30, ch. 93-177; ss. 26, 49, ch. 93-217; s. 26, ch. 97-100; s. 15, ch. 99-394.