Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1154
       
       
        
       By Senator Soto
       
       
       
       
       
       14-00627B-14                                          20141154__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Nursing Home Guide Watch List;
    3         amending s. 400.191, F.S.; requiring a nursing home
    4         facility on the list to post signs containing certain
    5         information for a specified period; specifying the
    6         content and location of signs; providing sanctions for
    7         failure to comply; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 400.191, Florida
   12  Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         400.191 Availability, distribution, and posting of reports
   14  and records.—
   15         (3) Each nursing home facility licensee shall maintain as
   16  public information, available upon request, records of all cost
   17  and inspection reports pertaining to that facility that have
   18  been filed with, or issued by, any governmental agency. Copies
   19  of the reports shall be retained in the records for not less
   20  than 5 years following the date the reports are filed or issued.
   21         (a) The agency shall publish in the Nursing Home Guide a
   22  “Nursing Home Guide Watch List” to assist consumers in
   23  evaluating the quality of nursing home care in Florida. The
   24  watch list must identify each facility that met the criteria for
   25  a conditional licensure status and each facility that is
   26  operating under bankruptcy protection. The watch list must
   27  include, but is not limited to, the facility’s name, address,
   28  and ownership; the county in which the facility operates; the
   29  license expiration date; the number of licensed beds; a
   30  description of the deficiency causing the facility to be placed
   31  on the list; any corrective action taken; and the cumulative
   32  number of days and percentage of days the facility had a
   33  conditional license in the past 30 months. The watch list must
   34  include a brief description regarding how to choose a nursing
   35  home, the categories of licensure, the agency’s inspection
   36  process, an explanation of terms used in the watch list, and the
   37  addresses and phone numbers of the agency’s health quality
   38  assurance field offices.
   39         (b) Upon publication of each Nursing Home Guide, the agency
   40  must post a copy on its website by the 15th calendar day of the
   41  second month following the end of the calendar quarter. Each
   42  nursing home licensee must retrieve the most recent version of
   43  the Nursing Home Guide from the agency’s website.
   44         (c) Any facility placed on the watch list must clearly and
   45  conspicuously post a sign on every facility entrance that reads,
   46  “NOTICE: THIS FACILITY IS CURRENTLY ON FLORIDA’S NURSING HOME
   47  GUIDE WATCH LIST.” The sign must remain posted for the duration
   48  of time that the facility remains on the watch list. If the
   49  agency determines that a facility has violated this paragraph,
   50  the agency shall cite the facility for a class I deficiency and
   51  place the facility on a 6-month inspection visit cycle.
   52         (d) Any facility placed on the watch list must provide
   53  written or electronic notice to the primary familial contact of
   54  each of that facilities residents informing them of the
   55  facilities placement on the watch list. Notice must include a
   56  description of the deficiency causing the facility to be placed
   57  on the list, any corrective action taken, and the cumulative
   58  number of days and percentage of days the facility had a
   59  conditional license in the past 30 months.
   60         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.