HB 791

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the DeSoto County Hospital District;
3amending chapter 2004-450, Laws of Florida; providing the
4nature of the district; providing for sovereign immunity;
5providing additional powers of the district; revising
6provisions relating to the destruction of records;
7providing for treatment of prisoners or county officers
8admitted to any hospital operated or leased by the
9district; providing for personnel; providing contract
10requirements for lease of facilities to not-for-profit
11corporations; providing for self-insurance plans; deleting
12certain requirements for insurance policy contracts;
13providing for liens for collection of charges; providing
14applicability; providing an effective date.
15
16Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18     Section 1.  Present sections 17 and 18 of section 3 of
19chapter 2004-450, Laws of Florida, are renumbered as sections 18
20and 19, respectively, present sections 1, 3, 4, 14, 15, and 16
21of that section are amended, and new sections 16 and 20 are
22added to that section, to read:
23     Section 1.  Creation; boundaries; nature of district.--
24     (1)  An independent special district is created and
25incorporated to be known as the "DeSoto County Hospital
26District," which district shall embrace and include all of
27DeSoto County.
28     (2)  The district is an independent special district of the
29state and DeSoto County pursuant to this act and chapter 189,
30Florida Statutes, and a public body both corporate and politic.
31The district shall not be an agency for the purposes of the
32Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes. The
33district shall enjoy all the protections of sovereign immunity
34and section 768.28, Florida Statutes.
35     Section 3.  Powers.--
36     (1)  The District Board of DeSoto County Hospital District
37shall have all the powers of a body corporate, including the
38power to sue and be sued under the name of the DeSoto County
39Hospital District; to contract and be contracted with; to adopt
40and use a common seal and to alter same at pleasure; to acquire,
41purchase, hold, lease, mortgage, and convey such real and
42personal property as the board may deem proper or expedient to
43carry out the purposes of this act; to appoint and employ a
44superintendent and such other agents and employees as the board
45may deem advisable and to fix a compensation of all employees
46and to remove any appointees or employees; to insure the
47improvements, fixtures, and equipment against loss by fire,
48windstorm, or other coverage in such amounts as may be
49determined reasonable and proper; and to borrow money and issue
50evidence of indebtedness of the district therefor to carry out
51the provisions of this act in the manner hereinafter provided.
52     (2)  The DeSoto County Hospital District is authorized and
53empowered to finance by any commercially reasonable means,
54including the issuance of industrial development or revenue
55bonds, the construction of additional medical facilities, the
56purchase of medical-care-related equipment, and such other
57classes of property in furtherance of the district's purposes.
58     (3)  The district serves a proper public purpose; performs
59an essential governmental function of the state and county;
60shall have all power and authority necessary to carry out the
61purposes of this act, including, without limitation, all powers
62authorized by law to hospital districts, facilities, and
63authorities; and shall have and operate under the powers of a
64body corporate and politic, including such general and special
65powers and duties as are provided herein and as may be otherwise
66provided and amended from time to time by the Legislature.
67     Section 4.  Officers; meetings; records.--There shall be a
68chair of the district board elected annually. The district board
69may elect one of its members to serve as secretary and treasurer
70or it may appoint some person not a member of the district board
71to serve in that capacity. In the absence of the chair or his or
72her inability to act at any regular meeting, warrants may be
73signed by any other member of the district board selected by the
74members present as chair pro tem. Three members shall constitute
75a quorum, and a vote of at least two members shall be necessary
76to the transaction of any business of the district. A regular
77meeting of the board shall be held annually. Additional meetings
78may be called by a majority of the board upon advance notice as
79provided by section 189.417, Florida Statutes. The members shall
80cause true and accurate minutes and records to be kept of all
81business transacted by them and shall keep full, true, and
82complete books of account and minutes, which minutes, records,
83and books of account shall at all reasonable times be open and
84subject to inspection; and any person desiring to do so may make
85or procure copies of the minutes, records, or books of account,
86or such portions thereof as he or she may desire; however, such
87records shall not include personnel and medical records of a
88private and confidential nature. The district board shall be
89empowered to destroy any of its records, together with any of
90the records of the hospitals owned and operated by the district
91board, if the records are photographed, or microfilmed, or
92otherwise maintained in a reproducible format prior to their
93destruction.
94     Section 14.  Admission to facilities.--The hospital or
95related medical facilities established under this act shall be
96for the use and benefit of the residents of this district,
97subject to the rules, regulations, and charges prescribed by the
98district board which are in effect as of the date of admission
99of a patient or patients to such a hospital or related medical
100facility. Medical care and treatment for the indigent in the
101district shall be and remain the primary responsibility of
102DeSoto County, any authorization herein contained for treatment
103of indigents to the contrary notwithstanding, the district board
104of this district being granted the authority to refuse such
105admission of indigents when found by such district board not to
106be financially practicable with due regard to the general
107financial condition of the district. The district board is
108empowered to enter into and fulfill agreements with the Board of
109County Commissioners of DeSoto County for the admission and
110treatment of indigents upon such terms, costs, and charges as
111may be mutually agreed upon. The district board shall be
112authorized to accept moneys from any welfare funds provided for
113DeSoto County or moneys available to the indigent patients from
114a federal, state, or county agency or moneys available to DeSoto
115County from said governmental agencies for welfare and hospital
116purposes, for the payment of costs of treatment and care of
117indigent residents of the district as shall be admitted. The
118district board may collect from patients financially able such
119charges as the district board may from time to time establish.
120The district board may extend the privileges and use of the
121hospital or clinic to nonresidents of the district who shall pay
122the rates established by the district board upon such terms and
123conditions as the district board may provide. However, residents
124of the district wherein the hospital or clinic is located shall
125have first claim to admission. The district board shall further
126have the power to furnish and extend the benefits of the
127hospital and clinic services and treatment to the homes of
128indigent residents of the district. Each municipal corporation
129situated within the district and the law enforcement agencies of
130DeSoto County shall be liable to the district board for the
131occupancy, care, medicine, and treatment of prisoners in the
132custody of the municipal corporation or for county officers who
133are admitted to any hospital operated or leased by the district
134board.
135     Section 15.  Regulation of physicians, staff members, and
136practitioners.--Realizing that factors other than academic
137records professional must enter into the qualifications of those
138who practice medicine and surgery, the district board is
139authorized to set up rules, regulations, and bylaws for the
140operation of the hospital and hospital staff. The district board
141is authorized to grant or revoke licenses and privileges of
142staff members for practice in and about any hospital or other
143medical care facility maintained under this act, so that the
144welfare and health of patients and the best interests of the
145facility may at all times be best served. Privileges of staff
146membership and appointments thereto may be authorized or granted
147by the district board. The district board is further authorized
148to set up rules and regulations for the control of all
149professional and nonprofessional employees of any hospital or
150other medical care facility, which terms shall include nurses on
151general duty or on private duty attending patients, and all
152parties in the facility as employees in any manner in attendance
153of patients. The district is further authorized to recruit,
154retain, discharge, and compensate personnel, including
155physicians, to provide health-related services at facilities
156operated or leased by the district. The district is also
157authorized to employ or enter into independent contractor
158arrangements, at the discretion of the board, with professionals
159and others and fix their compensation.
160     Section 16.  Lease of facilities to not-for-profit
161corporation.--
162     (1)  The district board is permitted to acquire any health-
163related properties, including the DeSoto Memorial Hospital, and
164contract with a not-for-profit corporation formed by the
165district or the board for the operation, management, and
166maintenance of the district's facilities of whatsoever kind and
167nature through one or more agreements, with the term thereof and
168conditions and covenants contained therein made at the
169discretion of the board, except that the contract must provide:
170     (a)  That the corporation's articles of incorporation and
171bylaws are subject to the approval of the board.
172     (b)  That the corporation shall become qualified under
173section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
174amended, or any other subsection of section 501(c) as approved
175by the board, prior to the effective date of the contract.
176     (c)  For the prompt return of the operation of the district
177facilities from the corporation to the district in the event of
178termination of the agreement or dissolution of the corporation.
179     (d)  That the district is not responsible for the debts or
180other obligations of the corporation.
181     (2)  An agreement with a not-for-profit corporation may
182provide, but need not be limited to, the following:
183     (a)  That the corporation is primarily acting as an
184instrumentality or agency of the district and is thus entitled
185to all the protections of sovereign immunity and section 768.28,
186Florida Statutes.
187     (b)  That the members of the board may be members of the
188board of directors of the corporation.
189     Section 17.16.  Insurance; board liability.--The district
190board may secure and keep in force in amounts it may determine,
191in companies duly authorized to do business in Florida,
192liability insurance covering vehicles, premises, and
193malpractice. In combination with such insurance or in the
194alternative, the district board may create a self-insurance plan
195that provides the same or similar coverages. In consideration of
196the premium at which each policy shall be written, it shall be a
197part of the policy contract between the district board and the
198insurer that the company shall not be entitled to the benefit of
199the defense of governmental immunity for the insured by reason
200of exercising a governmental function on any suit brought
201against the insured.
202     Section 20.  Liens for collection of charges.--
203     (1)  The district, as well as any not-for-profit
204corporation contracting with the district for the operation,
205management, and maintenance of the district's facilities, shall
206be entitled to a lien for all charges incurred for hospital
207care, treatment, and maintenance of ill or injured persons upon
208any and all causes of action, suits, claims, counterclaims, and
209demands accruing to such persons or the legal representatives of
210such persons, and upon all judgments, settlements, and
211settlement agreements rendered or entered into by virtue
212thereof, on account of illness or injuries giving rise to such
213causes of action, suits, claims, counterclaims, demands,
214judgments, settlements, or settlement agreements and that
215necessitate or shall have necessitated such hospital care,
216treatment, and maintenance.
217     (2)  In order to perfect such a lien, the executive office
218or agent of the hospital, before any person shall have been
219discharged from said hospital or within 45 days after such
220discharge, shall file in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit
221Court of DeSoto County a verified claim in writing setting forth
222the name and address of the patient as it appears on the records
223of the hospital; the name and location of the hospital; the name
224and address of the executive office or agent of the hospital;
225the dates of the patient's admission to and discharge from the
226hospital; the amount claimed to be due for such hospital care,
227treatment, and maintenance; and, to the best knowledge of the
228person signing the claim, the names and addresses of all
229persons, firms, or corporations that may be claimed by the ill
230or injured person, or by the legal representative of such
231person, to be liable for such illness or injuries. At the same
232time that the claim is filed with the clerk of the circuit
233court, a copy thereof shall be sent by regular mail to the ill
234or injured person, to his or her attorney, if known, and to all
235persons, firms, or corporations named in the claim. The filing
236and mailing of the claim in accordance with this section shall
237be notice thereof to all persons, firms, or corporations that
238may be liable for such illness or injuries regardless of whether
239they are named in the claim or lien and regardless of whether
240they have received a copy of the claim.
241     (3)  The Clerk of the Circuit Court of DeSoto County shall
242endorse on the claim the date and hour of filing and shall
243record the claim in the official records of DeSoto County. The
244clerk shall be paid by the claimant, as the clerk's fee for the
245filing and recording of each claim, the same fee as provided for
246filing and recording other instruments under the recording laws.
247     (4)  No release or satisfaction of any cause of action,
248suit, claim, counterclaim, demand, judgment, settlement, or
249settlement agreement shall be valid or effectual as against such
250lien unless the lienholder joins therein or executes a release
251of the lien. Any acceptance of a release or satisfaction of any
252such cause of action, suit, claim, counterclaim, demand, or
253judgment and any settlement of any of the foregoing in the
254absence of a release of satisfaction of the lien shall prima
255facie constitute an impairment of the lien, and the lienholder
256shall be entitled to an action at law for damages on account of
257such impairment and in such action shall recover from the one
258accepting such release or satisfaction or making such settlement
259the outstanding charges for such hospital care, treatment, and
260maintenance. Satisfaction of any judgment rendered in favor of
261the lienholder in any such action shall operate as a
262satisfaction of the lien. Any action by the lienholder may be
263brought and maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction in
264or for DeSoto County. If the lienholder prevails in such action,
265the lienholder shall be entitled to recover from the defendant,
266in addition to costs otherwise allowed by law, reasonable
267attorney's fees, suit money, costs, and expenses incident to the
268matter.
269     (5)  The provisions of this act shall not be applicable to
270accidents or injuries within the purview of the workers'
271compensation laws of this state.
272     Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.