Senate Bill sb0296c1
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 296
By the Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care; and
Senator Saunders
317-1837-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to retirement communities;
3 amending s. 400.235, F.S., relating to the Gold
4 Seal Program; amending standards for evidence
5 of financial soundness and stability of certain
6 nursing home facilities; amending s. 400.141,
7 F.S.; amending prerequisites that certain
8 nursing homes must fulfill to qualify for
9 sharing programming and staff with other
10 entities that are part of a retirement
11 community; amending ss. 651.081, 651.085, F.S.;
12 providing for the establishment of a residents'
13 organization; providing for the purposes of
14 such an organization; requiring notice of a
15 meeting or ballot election to select a
16 designated representative to represent a
17 residents' organization before the governing
18 body of a continuing care provider; providing
19 an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
24 400.235, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
25 400.235 Nursing home quality and licensure status;
26 Gold Seal Program.--
27 (5) Facilities must meet the following additional
28 criteria for recognition as a Gold Seal Program facility:
29 (b) Evidence financial soundness and stability
30 according to standards adopted by the agency in administrative
31 rule. A nursing home that is part of the same corporate entity
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 296
317-1837-03
1 as a continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651 which
2 meets the minimum liquid reserve requirements specified in s.
3 651.035 and is accredited by a recognized accrediting
4 organization under s. 651.028 and rules of the Office of
5 Insurance Regulation satisfies this requirement as long as the
6 accreditation is not provisional.
7
8 A facility assigned a conditional licensure status may not
9 qualify for consideration for the Gold Seal Program until
10 after it has operated for 30 months with no class I or class
11 II deficiencies and has completed a regularly scheduled
12 relicensure survey.
13 Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 400.141, Florida
14 Statutes, is amended to read:
15 400.141 Administration and management of nursing home
16 facilities.--Every licensed facility shall comply with all
17 applicable standards and rules of the agency and shall:
18 (7) If the facility has a standard license licensure
19 status or is a Gold Seal facility, exceeds the minimum
20 required hours of licensed nursing and certified nursing
21 assistant direct care per resident per day staffing standards,
22 and is part of a continuing care facility licensed under
23 chapter 651 or a retirement community that offers other
24 services pursuant to part III, part IV, or part V on a single
25 campus, be allowed to share programming and staff. At the
26 time of relicensure, a continuing care facility or retirement
27 community that uses this option must demonstrate through
28 staffing records that minimum staffing requirements for the
29 facility were exceeded. Licensed nurses and certified nursing
30 assistants may be used to provide services elsewhere on campus
31 if the facility exceeds the minimum number of direct care
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 296
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1 hours required per resident per day and the number of
2 residents served on campus by a licensed nurse or a certified
3 nursing assistant never drops below the staffing ratios
4 required under s. 400.23(3)(a). If the facility receives a
5 conditional license, it may not share staff until the
6 conditional license status ends. This subsection does not
7 restrict the agency's authority under federal or state law to
8 require additional staff if a facility is cited for
9 deficiencies in care which are caused by an insufficient
10 number of certified nursing assistants or licensed nurses.
11 Section 3. Section 651.081, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 651.081 Continuing care facilities residents'
14 organizations.--
15 (1) Residents living in a facility holding a valid
16 certificate of authority under this chapter have the right of
17 self-organization, the right to be represented by an
18 individual of their own choosing, and the right to engage in
19 concerted activities for the purpose of keeping informed on
20 the operation of the facility which is caring for them or for
21 the purpose of other mutual aid or protection.
22 (2) A residents' organization created for the purpose
23 of representing residents on matters set forth in s. 651.085
24 may be established through an election in which the residents,
25 as defined in this chapter, vote by ballot, either physically
26 or by proxy. If the election is to be held during a meeting, a
27 notice of the organizational meeting must be provided to all
28 residents of the community at least 10 business days before
29 the meeting. Notice may be given through internal mailboxes,
30 communitywide newsletters, bulletin boards, in-house
31 television stations, and other similar means of communication.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 296
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1 An election for creating a residents' organization is valid if
2 at least 40 percent of the total resident population
3 participates in the election and a majority of the
4 participants vote affirmatively for the organization. The
5 initial residents' organization created under this section is
6 valid for at least 12 months. If the facility has a residents'
7 association, residents' council, or similarly organized body
8 with bylaws and elected officials, such organization must be
9 recognized as the residents' organization under this section
10 and s. 651.085. There shall be only one residents'
11 organization to represent residents before the governing body
12 of the provider as described in s. 651.085(2).
13 Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 651.085, Florida
14 Statutes, is amended to read:
15 651.085 Quarterly meetings between residents and the
16 governing body of the provider; resident representation before
17 the governing body of the provider.--
18 (2) A residents' organization formed pursuant to s.
19 651.081, members of which are elected by the residents, may
20 designate a resident to represent them before the governing
21 body of the provider or organize a meeting or ballot election
22 of the majority of the residents of the facility to determine
23 whether to elect a resident to represent them before the
24 governing body of the provider. If a no residents'
25 organization as described in s. 651.081 does not exist exists,
26 any resident may organize a meeting or ballot election of the
27 majority of the residents of the facility to determine whether
28 to elect a resident to represent them before the governing
29 body and, if applicable, elect the representative. The
30 residents' organization, or the resident that organizes
31 convenes a meeting or ballot election of residents to make the
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 296
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1 determination or elect a representative, shall give all
2 residents of the facility notice at least 10 business days
3 before the meeting or election 7 days' notice in a conspicuous
4 place at the facility. Notice may be given through internal
5 mailboxes, communitywide newsletters, bulletin boards,
6 in-house television stations, and other similar means of
7 communication. An election of the representative is valid if
8 at least 40 percent of the total resident population
9 participates in the election and a majority of the
10 participants vote affirmatively for the representative. The
11 initial designated representative elected under this section
12 shall be elected to serve for a period of at least 12 months.
13 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
14 law.
15
16 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
17 SB 296
18
19 The Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 296 modifies
conditions in the bill under which a nursing home facility may
20 share staff and programs to: restrict such sharing to
Continuing Care Retirement Communities or retirement
21 communities which meet certain conditions; remove a condition
that required that the facility which is sharing staff and
22 programming not have had a conditional license caused by a
staffing deficiency; remove specifications of minimum hours of
23 care which must be provided under staff sharing arrangements;
require that under staff sharing arrangements minimum staffing
24 requirements be exceeded; remove a prohibition against staff
sharing for a year after conditional licensure status ends, if
25 the conditional status was caused partly or wholly by a
deficiency in care resulting from an insufficient number of
26 staff; prohibit staff sharing arrangements while a facility
has a conditional licensure status; and clarify that the
27 subsection does not restrict the agency's authority to require
additional staff if a facility is cited for deficiencies in
28 care caused by an insufficient number of certified nursing
assistants or licensed nurses. The Committee Substitute adds
29 a requirement that there be only one Continuing Care
Retirement Community resident's organization to represent
30 residents before the governing body of a provider.
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