Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 508
Ì826374:Î826374
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
04/01/2014 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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