| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to home health services; amending s. |
| 3 | 400.4785, F.S.; providing requirements for training staff |
| 4 | of organizations that provide companion or homemaker |
| 5 | services; amending s. 400.509, F.S.; exempting |
| 6 | organizations that provide certain personal care services |
| 7 | from licensure; requiring organizations that provide |
| 8 | personal care services to register with the Agency for |
| 9 | Health Care Administration and to maintain liability |
| 10 | insurance coverage; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 400.4785, |
| 15 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 16 | 400.4785 Patients with Alzheimer's disease or other |
| 17 | related disorders; staff training requirements; certain |
| 18 | disclosures.-- |
| 19 | (3) An organization that provides companion services or |
| 20 | homemaker services must provide the following staff training: |
| 21 | (a) Newly hired personnel who will be providing direct |
| 22 | care to patients must complete 2 hours of training in |
| 23 | Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related disorders within 9 |
| 24 | months after beginning employment with the organization. This |
| 25 | training must include, but is not limited to, an overview of |
| 26 | dementia, a demonstration of basic skills in communicating with |
| 27 | persons who have dementia, the management of problem behaviors, |
| 28 | information about promoting the client's independence in |
| 29 | activities of daily living, and instruction in skills for |
| 30 | working with families and caregivers. |
| 31 | (b) For certified nursing assistants, the required 2 hours |
| 32 | of training shall be part of the total hours of training |
| 33 | required annually. |
| 34 | (c) The Department of Elderly Affairs, or its designee, |
| 35 | must approve the required training. The department must consider |
| 36 | for approval training offered in a variety of formats. The |
| 37 | department shall keep a list of current providers who are |
| 38 | approved to provide the 2-hour training. The department shall |
| 39 | adopt rules to establish standards for the employees who are |
| 40 | subject to this training, for the trainers, and for the training |
| 41 | required under this subsection. |
| 42 | (d) Upon completing the 2-hour training, the employee |
| 43 | shall be issued a certificate dated and signed by the training |
| 44 | provider that states that the training required under this |
| 45 | subsection has been received. The certificate is evidence of |
| 46 | completion of this training, and the employee is not required to |
| 47 | repeat this training if the employee changes employment to a |
| 48 | different organization registered under s. 400.509. |
| 49 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 400.509, Florida |
| 50 | Statutes, is amended, subsection (15) is renumbered as |
| 51 | subsection (16), and a new subsection (15) is added to said |
| 52 | section, to read: |
| 53 | 400.509 Registration of particular service providers |
| 54 | exempt from licensure; certificate of registration; regulation |
| 55 | of registrants; liability insurance.-- |
| 56 | (1) Any organization that provides companion services or |
| 57 | homemaker services, or that provides personal care services |
| 58 | through employed certified nursing assistants under part II of |
| 59 | chapter 464 or through employees who are trained and qualified |
| 60 | in providing personal care as determined by the agency under s. |
| 61 | 400.497(1), and does not provide a home health service other |
| 62 | than assisting a patient with bathing, dressing, toileting, |
| 63 | grooming, eating, physical transfer, and those normal daily |
| 64 | routines the patient could perform for himself or herself if he |
| 65 | or she was physically capable to a person is exempt from |
| 66 | licensure under this part. However, any organization that |
| 67 | provides companion services, or homemaker services, or personal |
| 68 | care services must register with the agency. |
| 69 | (15) Any organization that provides personal care services |
| 70 | must obtain and maintain liability insurance coverage as defined |
| 71 | in s. 624.605(1)(b) in an amount of not less than $250,000 per |
| 72 | claim and must submit proof of liability insurance coverage with |
| 73 | an initial application for registration and with each annual |
| 74 | application for registration renewal. |
| 75 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |