HB 0705 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to retirement communities; amending s.
3	400.141, F.S.; revising prerequisites that certain nursing
4	homes must fulfill to qualify for sharing programming and
5	staff with other entities that are part of a retirement
6	community; amending s. 400.235, F.S.; revising standards
7	for evidence of financial soundness and stability of
8	certain nursing home facilities in the Gold Seal Program;
9	amending ss. 651.081 and 651.085, F.S.; providing for the
10	establishment of a residents' organization for certain
11	purposes; requiring notice of a meeting or ballot election
12	to select a designated representative to represent a
13	residents' organization before the governing body of a
14	provider; providing an effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 400.141, Florida
19	Statutes, is amended to read:
20	400.141 Administration and management of nursing home
21	facilities.--Every licensed facility shall comply with all
22	applicable standards and rules of the agency and shall:
23	(7) If the facility has a standard licenselicensure
24	status or is a Gold Seal facility, exceeds the minimum required
25	hours of licensed nursing and certified nursing assistant direct
26	care per resident per daystaffing standards, and is part of a
27	continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651 or a
28	retirement community that offers other services pursuant to part
29	III, part IV, or part V on a single campus, be allowed to share
30	programming and staff. At the time of relicensure, a continuing
31	care facility orretirement community that uses this option must
32	demonstrate through staffing records that minimum staffing
33	requirements for the facility were exceeded. Licensed nurses and
34	certified nursing assistants may be used to provide services
35	elsewhere on campus if the facility exceeds the minimum number
36	of direct care hours required per resident per day and the
37	number of residents served on campus by a licensed nurse or a
38	certified nursing assistant never drops below the staffing
39	ratios required in s. 400.23(3)(a). If the facility receives a
40	conditional license, it may not share staff until the
41	conditional license status ends. This subsection does not
42	restrict the agency’s authority under federal or state law to
43	require additional staff if a facility is cited for deficiencies
44	in care which are caused by an insufficient number of certified
45	nursing assistants or licensed nurses.
46
47	Facilities that have been awarded a Gold Seal under the program
48	established in s. 400.235 may develop a plan to provide
49	certified nursing assistant training as prescribed by federal
50	regulations and state rules and may apply to the agency for
51	approval of their program.
52	Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
53	400.235, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
54	400.235 Nursing home quality and licensure status; Gold
55	Seal Program.--
56	(5) Facilities must meet the following additional criteria
57	for recognition as a Gold Seal Program facility:
58	(b) Evidence financial soundness and stability according
59	to standards adopted by the agency in administrative rule. A
60	nursing home that is part of the same corporate entity as a
61	continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651 which meets
62	the minimum liquid reserve requirements specified in s. 651.035
63	and is accredited by a recognized accrediting organization under
64	s. 651.028 and rules of the Office of Insurance Regulation
65	satisfies this requirement as long as the accreditation is not
66	provisional.
67
68	A facility assigned a conditional licensure status may not
69	qualify for consideration for the Gold Seal Program until after
70	it has operated for 30 months with no class I or class II
71	deficiencies and has completed a regularly scheduled relicensure
72	survey.
73	Section 3. Section 651.081, Florida Statutes, is amended
74	to read:
75	651.081 Continuing care facilities residents'
76	organizations.--
77	(1)Residents living in a facility holding a valid
78	certificate of authority under this chapter have the right of
79	self-organization, the right to be represented by an individual
80	of their own choosing, and the right to engage in concerted
81	activities for the purpose of keeping informed on the operation
82	of the facility which is caring for them or for the purpose of
83	other mutual aid or protection.
84	(2) A residents’ organization created for the purpose of
85	representing residents on matters set forth in s. 651.085 may be
86	established through an election in which the residents, as
87	defined in this chapter, vote by ballot, either physically or by
88	proxy. If the election is to be held during a meeting, a notice
89	of the organizational meeting must be provided to all residents
90	of the community at least 10 business days before the meeting.
91	Notice may be given through internal mailboxes, communitywide
92	newsletters, bulletin boards, in-house television stations, and
93	other similar means of communication. An election for creating a
94	residents’ organization is valid if at least 40 percent of the
95	total resident population participates in the election and a
96	majority of the participants vote affirmatively for the
97	organization. The initial residents’ organization created under
98	this section is valid for at least 12 months. If the facility
99	has a residents’ association, residents’ council, or similarly
100	organized body with bylaws and elected officials, such
101	organization must be recognized as the residents’ organization
102	under this section and s. 651.085. There shall be only one
103	residents’ organization to represent residents before the
104	governing body of the provider as described in s. 651.085(2).
105	Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 651.085, Florida
106	Statutes, is amended to read:
107	651.085 Quarterly meetings between residents and the
108	governing body of the provider; resident representation before
109	the governing body of the provider.--
110	(2) A residents' organization formed pursuant to s.
111	651.081, members of which are elected by the residents, may
112	designate a resident to represent them before the governing body
113	of the provider or organize a meeting or ballot electionof the
114	majorityof the residents of the facility to determine whether
115	to elect a resident to represent them before the governing body
116	of the provider. If ano residents' organization as described in
117	s. 651.081 does not existexists, any resident may organize a
118	meeting or ballot election of the majority of theresidents of
119	the facility to determine whether to elect a resident to
120	represent them before the governing body and, if applicable,
121	elect the representative. The residents' organization, or the
122	resident that organizesconvenes a meeting or ballot electionof
123	residents to make the determination orelect a representative,
124	shall give all residents of the facility notice at least 10
125	business days before the meeting or election7 days' notice in a
126	conspicuous place at the facility. Notice may be given through
127	internal mailboxes, communitywide newsletters, bulletin boards,
128	in-house television stations, and other similar means of
129	communication. An election of the representative is valid if at
130	least 40 percent of the total resident population participates
131	in the election and a majority of the participants vote
132	affirmatively for the representative. The initial designated
133	representative elected under this section shall be elected to
134	serve for a period of at least 12 months.
135	Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.