| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to nursing home facilities; creating s. |
| 3 | 400.0627, F.S.; providing legislative intent; requiring |
| 4 | the Agency for Health Care Administration to implement a |
| 5 | pilot program to increase the emergency electrical power |
| 6 | capacity of nursing home facilities; providing criteria |
| 7 | for participation in the program; providing conditions for |
| 8 | reimbursement of participating facilities; permitting |
| 9 | inspections of certain facilities by the agency; requiring |
| 10 | facilities to comply with current codes and standards when |
| 11 | modifying emergency electrical power systems; authorizing |
| 12 | the agency to adopt rules; requiring the agency to prepare |
| 13 | a reimbursement plan; requiring the plan to be presented |
| 14 | to the Legislature; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 400.0627, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 400.0627 Emergency electrical power system capacity.-- |
| 21 | (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that each nursing |
| 22 | home facility in this state be encouraged to have an emergency |
| 23 | electrical power system capacity that is sufficient to remain |
| 24 | fully operational during and after an emergency in order to |
| 25 | maintain the safety and health of the residents of the nursing |
| 26 | home facility and, if necessary, to provide care to residents |
| 27 | evacuated from other nursing home facilities. |
| 28 | (2) By July 1, 2006, the Agency for Health Care |
| 29 | Administration shall commence implementation of a 2-year pilot |
| 30 | program to provide the capability for increasing the capacity of |
| 31 | emergency electrical power systems of nursing home facilities. |
| 32 | To participate in the pilot program a nursing home facility |
| 33 | must: |
| 34 | (a) Be located in Bay County, Broward County, Collier |
| 35 | County, Miami-Dade County, Escambia County, Monroe County, |
| 36 | Okaloosa County, Palm Beach County, Santa Rosa County, or Walton |
| 37 | County; |
| 38 | (b) Not be located within a hurricane evacuation zone; |
| 39 | (c) Not have been cited for a class I deficiency within |
| 40 | the 30 months preceding the commencement date of implementation |
| 41 | of the pilot program; |
| 42 | (d) Be capable of accepting and agree to accept at least |
| 43 | 30 residents who are transferred from other nursing home |
| 44 | facilities pursuant to applicable life safety and firesafety |
| 45 | laws as determined by the agency. During any such evacuation, |
| 46 | the facility from which the residents are transferred shall |
| 47 | provide the receiving facility with the staff required to care |
| 48 | for the transferred residents; and |
| 49 | (e) Have a contract with a company that is able to supply |
| 50 | an electrical generator when needed. |
| 51 | (3)(a) A nursing home facility must notify the agency if |
| 52 | it seeks to participate in the pilot program. If a facility |
| 53 | providing such a notice meets the criteria in subsection (2) and |
| 54 | funds are available as specified in paragraph (b), the agency |
| 55 | shall reimburse the facility for up to one-half the cost of the |
| 56 | contract described in paragraph (2)(e) to secure an electrical |
| 57 | generator, which reimbursement shall not exceed $7,500 for each |
| 58 | year of the 2-year pilot program. The agency shall also |
| 59 | reimburse the facility for the cost incurred to install a |
| 60 | permanent, predesigned electrical service entry that will allow |
| 61 | a quick connection to a temporary electrical generator. The |
| 62 | connection must be installed inside a permanent metal enclosure |
| 63 | that is rated as suitable for the purpose of providing such an |
| 64 | entry, may be located on the exterior of the building, and must |
| 65 | be adequate to allow the operation of the facility under normal |
| 66 | conditions. Before any such reimbursement, the facility must |
| 67 | provide the agency with documentation that the installation is |
| 68 | complete and the electrical work associated with the |
| 69 | installation was performed by a certified electrical contractor. |
| 70 | (b) Reimbursement to a facility under paragraph (a) is |
| 71 | available to the extent that funds are appropriated for each of |
| 72 | the 2 years of the pilot program. Funds shall be provided to |
| 73 | eligible facilities on a first-come, first-served basis. |
| 74 | (c) Subject to appropriation, the agency shall reimburse |
| 75 | the facility for the cost of the predesigned electrical service |
| 76 | entry that allows a quick connection to a temporary electrical |
| 77 | generator based on the lowest of three bids secured by the |
| 78 | facility. Each facility must submit copies of the three bids to |
| 79 | the agency with its request for plan approval. |
| 80 | (4) A nursing home facility that participates and is |
| 81 | reimbursed for an installation under the pilot program shall |
| 82 | ensure the proper safekeeping and maintenance of the |
| 83 | installation and allow the agency access as needed to inspect |
| 84 | the installation. |
| 85 | (5) This section does not require a nursing home facility |
| 86 | to participate in the pilot program or to modify the capacity of |
| 87 | its existing emergency electrical power system. However, if the |
| 88 | existing emergency electrical power system of a nursing home |
| 89 | facility is modified as part of an installation for which |
| 90 | reimbursement is provided under subsection (3), such system must |
| 91 | comply with all current codes and standards. |
| 92 | (6) The agency may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536 and |
| 93 | 120.54 to implement the provisions of this section. |
| 94 | (7) The agency is directed to develop a reimbursement plan |
| 95 | to maximize federal funding in order to expand the pilot |
| 96 | program. The plan shall include criteria for expansion to other |
| 97 | counties and shall take into account the experiences of the |
| 98 | participants in the pilot program. The plan shall be presented |
| 99 | to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of |
| 100 | Representatives by December 31, 2006. |
| 101 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |