Senate Bill 0890er

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    1999 Legislature           CS for CS for SB 890, 2nd Engrossed



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  2         An act relating to rural hospital capital

  3         improvement; creating s. 395.6061, F.S.;

  4         providing a mechanism for the disbursement of

  5         funds to rural hospitals; providing application

  6         requirements; prescribing uses of the fund;

  7         providing duties of the Department of Health;

  8         providing rulemaking authority for the

  9         establishment of criteria for the disbursement

10         of grant funds; amending s. 395.602, F.S.;

11         redefining the term "rural hospital"; providing

12         an effective date.

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14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Section 395.6061, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         395.6061  Rural hospital capital improvement.--There is

19  established a rural hospital capital improvement grant

20  program.

21         (1)  A rural hospital as defined in s. 395.602 may

22  apply to the department for a grant. The grant application

23  must provide information that includes:

24         (a)  A statement indicating the problem the rural

25  hospital proposes to solve with the grant funds;

26         (b)  The strategy proposed to resolve the problem;

27         (c)  The organizational structure, financial system,

28  and facilities that are essential to the proposed solution;

29         (d)  The projected longevity of the proposed solution

30  after the grant funds are expended;

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    1999 Legislature           CS for CS for SB 890, 2nd Engrossed



  1         (e)  Evidence of participation in a rural health

  2  network as defined in s. 381.0406;

  3         (f)  Evidence that the rural hospital has difficulty in

  4  obtaining funding or that funds available for the proposed

  5  solution are inadequate;

  6         (g)  Evidence that the grant funds will assist in

  7  maintaining or returning the hospital to an economically

  8  stable condition or that any plan for closure or realignment

  9  of services will involve development of innovative

10  alternatives for the discontinued services;

11         (h)  Evidence of a satisfactory record-keeping system

12  to account for grant fund expenditures within the rural

13  county;

14         (i)  A rural health network plan that includes a

15  description of how the plan was developed, the goals of the

16  plan, the links with existing health care providers under the

17  plan, indicators quantifying the hospital's financial

18  well-being, measurable outcome targets, and the current

19  physical and operational condition of the hospital.

20         (2)  Each rural hospital as defined in s. 395.602 shall

21  receive a minimum of $100,000 annually, subject to legislative

22  appropriation, upon application to the Department of Health,

23  for projects to acquire, repair, improve, or upgrade systems,

24  facilities, or equipment.

25         (3)  Any remaining funds shall annually be disbursed to

26  rural hospitals in accordance with this section. The

27  Department of Health shall establish, by rule, criteria for

28  awarding grants for any remaining funds, which must be used

29  exclusively for the support and assistance of rural hospitals

30  as defined in s. 395.602, including criteria relating to the

31  level of uncompensated care rendered by the hospital, the


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    ENROLLED

    1999 Legislature           CS for CS for SB 890, 2nd Engrossed



  1  participation in a rural health network as defined in s.

  2  381.0406, and the proposed use of the grant by the rural

  3  hospital to resolve a specific problem. The department must

  4  consider any information submitted in an application for the

  5  grants in accordance with subsection (1) in determining

  6  eligibility for and the amount of the grant, and none of the

  7  individual items of information by itself may be used to deny

  8  grant eligibility.

  9         (4)  The department shall ensure that the funds are

10  used solely for the purposes specified in this section. The

11  total grants awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed

12  the amount appropriated for this program.

13         Section 2.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section

14  395.602, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to

15  read:

16         395.602  Rural hospitals.--

17         (2)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this part:

18         (e)  "Rural hospital" means an acute care hospital

19  licensed under this chapter, having 100 or fewer licensed beds

20  and an emergency room, located in an area defined as rural by

21  the United States Census, and which is:

22         1.  The sole provider within a county with a population

23  density of no greater than 100 persons per square mile; or

24         2.  An acute care hospital, in a county with a

25  population density of no greater than 100 persons per square

26  mile, which is at least 30 minutes of travel time, on normally

27  traveled roads under normal traffic conditions, from any other

28  acute care hospital within the same county; or

29         3.  A hospital supported by a tax district or

30  subdistrict whose boundaries encompass a population of 100

31  persons or fewer per square mile; or


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    ENROLLED

    1999 Legislature           CS for CS for SB 890, 2nd Engrossed



  1         4.  A hospital in a constitutional charter county with

  2  a population of over 1 million persons that has imposed a

  3  local option health service tax pursuant to law and in an area

  4  that was directly impacted by a catastrophic event on August

  5  24, 1992, for which the Governor of Florida declared a state

  6  of emergency pursuant to chapter 125, and has 120 beds or less

  7  that serves an agricultural community with an emergency room

  8  utilization of no less than 20,000 visits and a Medicaid

  9  in-patient utilization rate greater than 15 percent.

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11  Population densities used in this paragraph must be based upon

12  the most recently completed United States census.

13         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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