Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1132
       
       
        
       By Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       
       4-01415-21                                            20211132__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to personal care attendants; amending
    3         s. 400.141, F.S.; authorizing nursing home facilities
    4         to employ personal care attendants if they complete a
    5         certain training program developed by the Agency for
    6         Health Care Administration, in consultation with the
    7         Board of Nursing; providing minimum requirements for
    8         such program; amending s. 400.211, F.S.; authorizing
    9         certain persons to be employed by a nursing home
   10         facility as personal care attendants for a specified
   11         period if a certain training requirement is met;
   12         defining the term “personal care attendants”;
   13         providing an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (w) is added to subsection (1) of
   18  section 400.141, Florida Statutes, to read:
   19         400.141 Administration and management of nursing home
   20  facilities.—
   21         (1) Every licensed facility shall comply with all
   22  applicable standards and rules of the agency and shall:
   23         (w) Be allowed to employ personal care attendants as
   24  defined in s. 400.211(2)(d), if such personal care attendants
   25  have successfully completed the personal care attendant training
   26  program developed by the agency, in consultation with the Board
   27  of Nursing, which must consist of a minimum of 8 hours of
   28  education. The program must include training in the content
   29  areas and lessons specified in the program curriculum, which
   30  must include, but need not be limited to:
   31         1. Residents’ rights.
   32         2. Confidentiality of residents’ personal information and
   33  medical records.
   34         3. Control of contagious and infectious diseases.
   35         4. Emergency response measures.
   36         5. Assistance with activities of daily living.
   37         6. Measuring vital signs.
   38         7. Skin care and pressure sores prevention.
   39         8. Portable oxygen use and safety.
   40         9. Nutrition and hydration.
   41         10. Dementia care.
   42         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 400.211, Florida
   43  Statutes, is amended to read:
   44         400.211 Persons employed as nursing assistants;
   45  certification requirement.—
   46         (2) The following categories of persons who are not
   47  certified as nursing assistants under part II of chapter 464 may
   48  be employed by a nursing facility for a period of 4 months:
   49         (a) Persons who are enrolled in, or have completed, a
   50  state-approved nursing assistant program.;
   51         (b) Persons who have been positively verified as actively
   52  certified and on the registry in another state with no findings
   53  of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in that state.; or
   54         (c) Persons who have preliminarily passed the state’s
   55  certification exam.
   56         (d) Persons who are employed as personal care attendants
   57  and who have completed the personal care attendant training
   58  program developed pursuant to s. 400.141(1)(w). As used in this
   59  paragraph, the term “personal care attendants” means persons who
   60  meet the training requirement in s. 400.141(1)(w) and provide
   61  care to and assist residents with tasks related to the
   62  activities of daily living.
   63  
   64  The certification requirement must be met within 4 months after
   65  initial employment as a nursing assistant in a licensed nursing
   66  facility.
   67         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.