CS/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; amending s.
11	400.0074, F.S.; revising the current administrative
12	assessment process from a facility-focused inspection to a
13	resident-focused inspection; repealing s. 400.0089, F.S.,
14	relating to data reports regarding complaints about and
15	conditions in long-term care facilities; amending s.
16	400.19, F.S.; revising conditions under which the Agency
17	for Health Care Administration is required to conduct
18	unannounced onsite facility reviews; amending s. 400.235,
19	F.S.; eliminating the role of the State Long-Term Care
20	Ombudsman Council in evaluating a nursing facility for the
21	Gold Seal Program; providing an effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Subsections (2) through (10) of section
26	400.0060, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (1)
27	through (9), respectively, and present subsection (1) of that
28	section is amended to read:
29	400.0060  Definitions.-When used in this part, unless the
30	context clearly dictates otherwise, the term:
31	(1)  "Administrative assessment" means a review of
32	conditions in a long-term care facility which impact the rights,
33	health, safety, and welfare of residents with the purpose of
34	noting needed improvement and making recommendations to enhance
35	the quality of life for residents.
36	Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 400.0061, Florida
37	Statutes, is amended to read:
38	400.0061  Legislative findings and intent; long-term care
39	facilities.-
40	(2)  It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to
41	utilize voluntary citizen ombudsman councils under the
42	leadership of the ombudsman, and through them to operate an
43	ombudsman program which shall, without interference by any
44	executive agency, undertake to discover, investigate, and
45	determine the presence of conditions or individuals which
46	constitute a threat to the rights, health, safety, or welfare of
47	the residents of long-term care facilities. To ensure that the
48	effectiveness and efficiency of such investigations are not
49	impeded by advance notice or delay, the Legislature intends that
50	the ombudsman and ombudsman councils and their designated
51	representatives not be required to obtain warrants in order to
52	enter into a long-term care facility to conduct the duties of
53	the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Long-
54	Term Care Ombudsman Council, or a local long-term care ombudsman
55	council or conduct investigations or onsite administrative
56	assessments of long-term care facilities. It is the further
57	intent of the Legislature that the environment in long-term care
58	facilities be conducive to the dignity and independence of
59	residents and that investigations by ombudsman councils shall
60	further the enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations that
61	safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of residents.
62	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
63	400.0067, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
64	400.0067  State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council; duties;
65	membership.-
66	(2)  The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council shall:
67	(b)  Serve as an appellate body in receiving from the local
68	councils complaints not resolved at the local level. Any
69	individual member or members of the state council may enter any
70	long-term care facility involved in an appeal, pursuant to the
71	conditions specified in s. 400.0074(2).
72	Section 4.  Subsection (3) of section 400.0069, Florida
73	Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (h) and (i) are added to
74	subsection (2) of that section, to read:
75	400.0069  Local long-term care ombudsman councils; duties;
76	membership.-
77	(2)  The duties of the local councils are to:
78	(h)  Ensure that residents have regular, timely access to
79	the ombudsman through visitations and that residents and
80	complainants receive timely responses to their complaints.
81	(i)  Provide technical support for the development of
82	resident and family councils to protect the well-being and
83	rights of residents.
84	(3)  In order to carry out the duties specified in
85	subsection (2), a member of a local council is authorized to
86	enter any long-term care facility without notice or first
87	obtaining a warrant, subject to the provisions of s.
88	400.0074(2).
89	Section 5.  Section 400.0071, Florida Statutes, is amended
90	to read:
91	400.0071  State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program complaint
92	procedures.-The department shall adopt rules implementing state
93	and local complaint procedures. The rules must include
94	procedures for:
95	(1)  Receiving complaints made by or on behalf of long-term
96	care facility residents against a long-term care facility or an
97	employee of a long-term care facility.
98	(2)  Conducting complaint investigations on behalf of long-
99	term care facility residents of a long-term care facility or an
100	employee of a long-term care facility subsequent to receiving a
101	complaint.
102	(3)  Conducting onsite administrative assessments of long-
103	term care facilities.
104	Section 6.  Section 400.0074, Florida Statutes, is amended
105	to read:
106	400.0074  Local ombudsman council resident-focused onsite
107	administrative assessments.-
108	(1)  In addition to any specific investigation conducted
109	pursuant to a complaint, the local council shall conduct
110	resident-focused assessments of a, at least annually, an onsite
111	administrative assessment of each nursing home, assisted living
112	facility, and adult family-care home within its jurisdiction.
113	This administrative assessment shall focus on factors affecting
114	the rights, health, safety, and welfare of the residents. Each
115	local council is encouraged to conduct a similar onsite
116	administrative assessment of each additional long-term care
117	facility within its jurisdiction.
118	(2)  The development of a resident-focused assessment
119	process shall be completed by a workgroup composed of one
120	representative from each of the following entities: the State
121	Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
122	Council, the local council, the Florida Health Care Association,
123	the Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the
124	Florida Assisted Living Association, and the Executive Office of
125	the Governor by October 1, 2011.
126	(3)(2)  A resident-focused An onsite administrative
127	assessment conducted by a local council shall be subject to the
128	following conditions:
129	(a)  To the extent possible and reasonable, the
130	administrative assessments shall not duplicate the efforts of
131	the agency surveys and inspections conducted under part II of
132	this chapter and parts I and II of chapter 429.
133	(b)  An administrative assessment shall be conducted at a
134	time and for a duration necessary to produce the information
135	required to carry out the duties of the local council.
136	(c)  Advance notice of an administrative assessment may not
137	be provided to a long-term care facility, except that notice of
138	followup assessments on specific problems may be provided.
139	(a)(d)  A local council member physically present for the
140	administrative assessment shall identify himself or herself to
141	the facility administrator and cite the specific statutory
142	authority for his or her assessment of the facility.
143	(b)(e)  An administrative assessment may not unreasonably
144	interfere with the programs and activities of residents.
145	(c)(f)  A local council member may not enter a single-
146	family residential unit within a long-term care facility during
147	an administrative assessment without the permission of the
148	resident or the representative of the resident.
149	(d)(g)  An administrative assessment must be conducted in a
150	manner that will impose no unreasonable burden on a long-term
151	care facility.
152	(4)(3)  Regardless of jurisdiction, the ombudsman may
153	authorize a state or local council member to assist another
154	local council to perform the administrative assessments
155	described in this section.
156	(5)(4)  An onsite administrative assessment may not be
157	accomplished by forcible entry. However, if the ombudsman or a
158	state or local council member is not allowed to enter a long-
159	term care facility, the administrator of the facility shall be
160	considered to have interfered with a representative of the
161	office, the state council, or the local council in the
162	performance of official duties as described in s. 400.0083(1)
163	and to have committed a violation of this part. The ombudsman
164	shall report the refusal by a facility to allow entry to the
165	agency, and the agency shall record the report and take it into
166	consideration when determining actions allowable under s.
167	400.102, s. 400.121, s. 429.14, s. 429.19, s. 429.69, or s.
168	429.71.
169	Section 7.  Section 400.0089, Florida Statutes, is
170	repealed.
171	Section 8.  Subsection (4) of section 400.19, Florida
172	Statutes, is amended to read:
173	400.19  Right of entry and inspection.-
174	(4)  The agency shall conduct unannounced onsite facility
175	reviews following written verification of licensee noncompliance
176	in instances in which a long-term care ombudsman council,
177	pursuant to ss. 400.0071 and 400.0075, has received a complaint
178	and has documented deficiencies in resident care or in the
179	physical plant of the facility that threaten the health, safety,
180	or security of residents, or when the agency documents through
181	inspection that conditions in a facility present a direct or
182	indirect threat to the health, safety, or security of residents.
183	However, the agency shall conduct unannounced onsite reviews
184	every 3 months of each facility while the facility has a
185	conditional license. Deficiencies related to physical plant do
186	not require followup reviews after the agency has determined
187	that correction of the deficiency has been accomplished and that
188	the correction is of the nature that continued compliance can be
189	reasonably expected.
190	Section 9.  Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (5) of
191	section 400.235, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
192	400.235  Nursing home quality and licensure status; Gold
193	Seal Program.-
194	(5)  Facilities must meet the following additional criteria
195	for recognition as a Gold Seal Program facility:
196	(f)  Evidence an outstanding record regarding the number
197	and types of substantiated complaints reported to the State
198	Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council within the 30 months preceding
199	application for the program.
200	(f)(g)  Provide targeted inservice training provided to
201	meet training needs identified by internal or external quality
202	assurance efforts.
203
204	A facility assigned a conditional licensure status may not
205	qualify for consideration for the Gold Seal Program until after
206	it has operated for 30 months with no class I or class II
207	deficiencies and has completed a regularly scheduled relicensure
208	survey.
209	Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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