Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 508
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì826374:Î826374                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  04/01/2014           .                                
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       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (537700) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 510 - 675
    5  and insert:
    6         (6)(7)Each local council shall meet upon the call of its
    7  chair or upon the call of the ombudsman. Each district local
    8  council shall meet at least once a month but may meet more
    9  frequently if necessary.
   10         (7)(8)An ombudsman may not A member of a local council
   11  shall receive no compensation but shall, with approval from the
   12  state ombudsman, be reimbursed for travel expenses both within
   13  and outside the jurisdiction of the local council in accordance
   14  with the provisions of s. 112.061.
   15         (8)(9)A representative of the office may The local
   16  councils are authorized to call upon appropriate state agencies
   17  of state government for such professional assistance as may be
   18  needed in the discharge of his or her their duties, and such.
   19  All state agencies shall cooperate with the local councils in
   20  providing requested information and agency representation at
   21  council meetings.
   22         Section 7. Section 400.0070, Florida Statutes, is amended
   23  to read:
   24         400.0070 Conflicts of interest.—
   25         (1) A representative of the office may The ombudsman shall
   26  not:
   27         (a) Have a direct involvement in the licensing or
   28  certification of, or an ownership or investment interest in, a
   29  long-term care facility or a provider of a long-term care
   30  service.
   31         (b) Be employed by, or participate in the management of, a
   32  long-term care facility.
   33         (c) Receive, or have a right to receive, directly or
   34  indirectly, remuneration, in cash or in kind, under a
   35  compensation agreement with the owner or operator of a long-term
   36  care facility.
   37         (2) Each representative employee of the office, each state
   38  council member, and each local council member shall certify that
   39  he or she does not have any has no conflict of interest.
   40         (3) The department, in consultation with the state
   41  ombudsman, shall define by rule:
   42         (a) Situations that constitute an individual a person
   43  having a conflict of interest which that could materially affect
   44  the objectivity or capacity of the individual a person to serve
   45  as a representative on an ombudsman council, or as an employee
   46  of the office, while carrying out the purposes of the State
   47  Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program as specified in this part.
   48         (b) The procedure by which an individual a person listed in
   49  subsection (2) shall certify that he or she does not have a has
   50  no conflict of interest.
   51         Section 8. Section 400.0071, Florida Statutes, is amended
   52  to read:
   53         400.0071 State Long-Term Care ombudsman program complaint
   54  procedures.—The department, in consultation with the state
   55  ombudsman, shall adopt rules implementing state and local
   56  complaint procedures. The rules must include procedures for
   57  receiving, investigating, identifying, and resolving complaints
   58  concerning the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents:
   59         (1) Receiving complaints against a long-term care facility
   60  or an employee of a long-term care facility.
   61         (2) Conducting investigations of a long-term care facility
   62  or an employee of a long-term care facility subsequent to
   63  receiving a complaint.
   64         (3) Conducting onsite administrative assessments of long
   65  term care facilities.
   66         Section 9. Section 400.0073, Florida Statutes, is amended
   67  to read:
   68         400.0073 Complaint State and local ombudsman council
   69  investigations.—
   70         (1) A representative of the office local council shall
   71  identify and investigate, within a reasonable time after a
   72  complaint is made, any complaint made by or on behalf of a
   73  resident, a representative of a resident, or any other credible
   74  source based on an action or omission by an administrator, an
   75  employee, or a representative of a long-term care facility which
   76  might be:
   77         (a) Contrary to law;
   78         (b) Unreasonable, unfair, oppressive, or unnecessarily
   79  discriminatory, even though in accordance with law;
   80         (c) Based on a mistake of fact;
   81         (d) Based on improper or irrelevant grounds;
   82         (e) Unaccompanied by an adequate statement of reasons;
   83         (f) Performed in an inefficient manner; or
   84         (g) Otherwise adversely affecting the health, safety,
   85  welfare, or rights of a resident.
   86         (2) In an investigation, both the state and local councils
   87  have the authority to hold public hearings.
   88         (3) Subsequent to an appeal from a local council, the state
   89  council may investigate any complaint received by the local
   90  council involving a long-term care facility or a resident.
   91         (2)(4) If a representative of the office the ombudsman or
   92  any state or local council member is not allowed to enter a
   93  long-term care facility, the administrator of the facility shall
   94  be considered to have interfered with a representative of the
   95  office, the state council, or the local council in the
   96  performance of official duties as described in s. 400.0083(1)
   97  and to have violated committed a violation of this part. The
   98  representative of the office ombudsman shall report a facility’s
   99  refusal to allow entry to the facility to the state ombudsman or
  100  his or her designee, who shall report the incident to the
  101  agency, and the agency shall record the report and take it into
  102  consideration when determining actions allowable under s.
  103  400.102, s. 400.121, s. 429.14, s. 429.19, s. 429.69, or s.
  104  429.71. If the facility refuses to allow entry to the
  105  representative and if the representative believes that the
  106  resident’s health, safety, or welfare is in immediate danger,
  107  the representative shall also report the incident to a local law
  108  enforcement agency.
  109         Section 10. Section 400.0074, Florida Statutes, is amended
  110  to read:
  111         400.0074 Local ombudsman council Onsite administrative
  112  assessments.—
  113         (1) A representative of the office shall In addition to any
  114  specific investigation conducted pursuant to a complaint, the
  115  local council shall conduct, at least annually, an onsite
  116  administrative assessment of each nursing home, assisted living
  117  facility, and adult family-care home within its jurisdiction.
  118  This administrative assessment must be resident-centered and
  119  must shall focus on factors affecting the rights, health,
  120  safety, and welfare of the residents. Each local council is
  121  encouraged to conduct a similar onsite administrative assessment
  122  of each additional long-term care facility within its
  123  jurisdiction.
  124         (2) An onsite administrative assessment is conducted by a
  125  local council shall be subject to the following conditions:
  126         (a) To the extent possible and reasonable, the
  127  administrative assessment may assessments shall not duplicate
  128  the efforts of the agency surveys and inspections conducted by
  129  state agencies of long-term care facilities under part II of
  130  this chapter and parts I and II of chapter 429.
  131         (b) An administrative assessment shall be conducted at a
  132  time and for a duration necessary to produce the information
  133  required to complete the assessment carry out the duties of the
  134  local council.
  135         (c) Advance notice of an administrative assessment may not
  136  be provided to a long-term care facility, except that notice of
  137  followup assessments on specific problems may be provided.
  138         (d) A representative of the office local council member
  139  physically present for the administrative assessment must shall
  140  identify himself or herself to the administrator and cite the
  141  specific statutory authority for his or her assessment of the
  142  facility or his or her designee.
  143         (e) An administrative assessment may not unreasonably
  144  interfere with the programs and activities of residents.
  145         (f) A representative of the office local council member may
  146  not enter a single-family residential unit within a long-term
  147  care facility during an administrative assessment without the
  148  permission of the resident or the representative of the
  149  resident.
  150         (g) An administrative assessment shall must be conducted in
  151  a manner that does not impose an will impose no unreasonable
  152  burden on a long-term care facility.
  153         (3) Regardless of jurisdiction, the ombudsman may authorize
  154  a state or local council member to assist another local council
  155  to perform the administrative assessments described in this
  156  section.
  157         (4) An onsite administrative assessment may not be
  158  accomplished by forcible entry. However, if a representative of
  159  the office ombudsman or a state or local council member is not
  160  allowed to enter a long-term care facility, the administrator of
  161  the facility shall be considered to have interfered with a
  162  representative of the office, the state council, or the local
  163  council in the performance of official duties as described in s.
  164  400.0083(1) and to have committed a violation of this part. The
  165  representative of the office ombudsman shall report the refusal
  166  by a facility to allow entry to the state ombudsman or his or
  167  her designee, who shall then report the incident to the agency,
  168  and the agency shall record the report and take it into
  169  consideration when determining actions allowable under s.
  170  400.102, s. 400.121, s. 429.14, s. 429.19, s. 429.69, or s.
  171  429.71.
  172         (4) The department, in consultation with the state
  173  ombudsman, shall adopt rules implementing procedures for
  174  conducting onsite administrative assessments of long-term care
  175  facilities.
  176  
  177  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  178  And the title is amended as follows:
  179         Delete lines 1722 - 1736
  180  and insert:
  181         deleting provisions that provide for an election of a
  182         chair of a local council; amending s. 400.0070, F.S.;
  183         providing conditions under which a representative of
  184         the office could be found to have a conflict of
  185         interest; requiring the Department of Elderly Affairs,
  186         in consultation with the state ombudsman, to define by
  187         rule what constitutes a conflict of interest; amending
  188         s. 400.0071, F.S.; requiring the Department of Elderly
  189         Affairs to consult with the state ombudsman to adopt
  190         rules pertaining to complaint procedures; amending s.
  191         400.0073, F.S.; providing procedures for investigation
  192         of complaints; amending s. 400.0074, F.S.; revising
  193         procedures for conducting onsite administrative
  194         assessments; requiring the department to adopt