HB 1171

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;
3	amending ss. 400.0060 and 400.0067, F.S.; removing
4	references to onsite administrative assessments and
5	conforming cross-references to changes made by the act;
6	amending s. 400.0061, F.S.; revising legislative intent;
7	amending s. 400.0069, F.S.; providing additional duties of
8	the local long-term care ombudsman councils; amending s.
9	400.0071, F.S.; revising rules relating to State Long-Term
10	Care Ombudsman Program complaint procedures; repealing s.
11	400.0074, F.S., relating to a requirement that local
12	ombudsman councils conduct onsite administrative
13	assessments; amending s. 400.0081, F.S.; requiring written
14	consent of a resident of a long-term care facility for
15	release of medical records; repealing s. 400.0089, F.S.,
16	relating to data reports regarding complaints about and
17	conditions in long-term care facilities; amending s.
18	400.19, F.S.; revising conditions under which the Agency
19	for Health Care Administration is required to conduct
20	unannounced onsite facility reviews; amending s. 400.235,
21	F.S.; eliminating the role of the State Long-Term Care
22	Ombudsman Council in evaluating a nursing facility for the
23	Gold Seal Program; providing an effective date.
24
25	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27	Section 1.  Subsections (2) through (10) of section
28	400.0060, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (1)
29	through (9), respectively, and present subsection (1) of that
30	section is amended to read:
31	400.0060  Definitions.-When used in this part, unless the
32	context clearly dictates otherwise, the term:
33	(1)  "Administrative assessment" means a review of
34	conditions in a long-term care facility which impact the rights,
35	health, safety, and welfare of residents with the purpose of
36	noting needed improvement and making recommendations to enhance
37	the quality of life for residents.
38	Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 400.0061, Florida
39	Statutes, is amended to read:
40	400.0061  Legislative findings and intent; long-term care
41	facilities.-
42	(2)  It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to
43	utilize voluntary citizen ombudsman councils under the
44	leadership of the ombudsman, and through them to operate an
45	ombudsman program which shall, without interference by any
46	executive agency, undertake to discover, investigate, and
47	determine the presence of conditions or individuals which
48	constitute a threat to the rights, health, safety, or welfare of
49	the residents of long-term care facilities. To ensure that the
50	effectiveness and efficiency of such investigations are not
51	impeded by advance notice or delay, the Legislature intends that
52	the ombudsman and ombudsman councils and their designated
53	representatives not be required to obtain warrants in order to
54	enter into a long-term care facility to conduct the duties of
55	the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Long-
56	Term Care Ombudsman Council, or a local long-term care ombudsman
57	council or conduct investigations or onsite administrative
58	assessments of long-term care facilities. It is the further
59	intent of the Legislature that the environment in long-term care
60	facilities be conducive to the dignity and independence of
61	residents and that investigations by ombudsman councils shall
62	further the enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations that
63	safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of residents.
64	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
65	400.0067, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
66	400.0067  State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council; duties;
67	membership.-
68	(2)  The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall:
69	(b)  Serve as an appellate body in receiving from the local
70	councils complaints not resolved at the local level. Any
71	individual member or members of the state council may enter any
72	long-term care facility involved in an appeal, pursuant to the
73	conditions specified in s. 400.0074(2).
74	Section 4.  Subsection (3) of section 400.0069, Florida
75	Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (h) and (i) are added to
76	subsection (2) of that section, to read:
77	400.0069  Local long-term care ombudsman councils; duties;
78	membership.-
79	(2)  The duties of the local councils are to:
80	(h)  Ensure that residents have regular, timely access to
81	the ombudsman through visitations and that residents and
82	complainants receive timely responses to their complaints.
83	(i)  Provide technical support for the development of
84	resident and family councils to protect the well-being and
85	rights of residents.
86	(3)  In order to carry out the duties specified in
87	subsection (2), a member of a local council is authorized to
88	enter any long-term care facility without notice or first
89	obtaining a warrant, subject to the provisions of s.
90	400.0074(2).
91	Section 5.  Section 400.0071, Florida Statutes, is amended
92	to read:
93	400.0071  State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program complaint
94	procedures.-The department shall adopt rules implementing state
95	and local complaint procedures. The rules must include
96	procedures for:
97	(1)  Receiving complaints made by or on behalf of long-term
98	care facility residents against a long-term care facility or an
99	employee of a long-term care facility.
100	(2)  Conducting complaint investigations on behalf of long-
101	term care facility residents of a long-term care facility or an
102	employee of a long-term care facility subsequent to receiving a
103	complaint.
104	(3)  Conducting onsite administrative assessments of long-
105	term care facilities.
106	Section 6.  Section 400.0074, Florida Statutes, is
107	repealed.
108	Section 7.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
109	400.0081, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
110	400.0081  Access to facilities, residents, and records.-
111	(1)  A long-term care facility shall provide the office,
112	the state council and its members, and the local councils and
113	their members access to:
114	(b)  Medical and social records of a resident for review as
115	necessary to investigate or resolve a complaint, if:
116	1.  The office has the written permission of the resident
117	or the legal representative of the resident and presents that
118	permission to the long-term care facility; or
119	2.  The resident is unable to consent to the review and has
120	no legal representative.
121	Section 8.  Section 400.0089, Florida Statutes, is
122	repealed.
123	Section 9.  Subsection (4) of section 400.19, Florida
124	Statutes, is amended to read:
125	400.19  Right of entry and inspection.-
126	(4)  The agency shall conduct unannounced onsite facility
127	reviews following written verification of licensee noncompliance
128	in instances in which a long-term care ombudsman council,
129	pursuant to ss. 400.0071 and 400.0075, has received a complaint
130	and has documented deficiencies in resident care or in the
131	physical plant of the facility that threaten the health, safety,
132	or security of residents, or when the agency documents through
133	inspection that conditions in a facility present a direct or
134	indirect threat to the health, safety, or security of residents.
135	However, the agency shall conduct unannounced onsite reviews
136	every 3 months of each facility while the facility has a
137	conditional license. Deficiencies related to physical plant do
138	not require followup reviews after the agency has determined
139	that correction of the deficiency has been accomplished and that
140	the correction is of the nature that continued compliance can be
141	reasonably expected.
142	Section 10.  Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (5) of
143	section 400.235, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
144	400.235  Nursing home quality and licensure status; Gold
145	Seal Program.-
146	(5)  Facilities must meet the following additional criteria
147	for recognition as a Gold Seal Program facility:
148	(f)  Evidence an outstanding record regarding the number
149	and types of substantiated complaints reported to the State
150	Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council within the 30 months preceding
151	application for the program.
152	(f)(g)  Provide targeted inservice training provided to
153	meet training needs identified by internal or external quality
154	assurance efforts.
155
156	A facility assigned a conditional licensure status may not
157	qualify for consideration for the Gold Seal Program until after
158	it has operated for 30 months with no class I or class II
159	deficiencies and has completed a regularly scheduled relicensure
160	survey.
161	Section 11.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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