Florida Senate - 2023                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1182
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì1943929Î194392                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/12/2023           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services
       (Simon) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 77 - 494
    4  and insert:
    5  provider, a health care services pool, an assisted living
    6  facility, an adult family-care home, or an adult day care center
    7  licensed or registered under chapter 400 or chapter 429.
    8         (b) “Department” means the Department of Elderly Affairs.
    9         (c) “Employee” means a person, contracted staff, or an
   10  independent contractor employed or referred by a covered
   11  provider who is required to undergo a level 2 background
   12  screening under s. 408.809 and chapter 435.
   13         (d) “Personal care” means providing, through in-person
   14  contact, assistance with activities of daily living, assistance
   15  with self-administration of medication, homemaker or companion
   16  services, nursing services, or other services that promote the
   17  physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of participants,
   18  patients, and residents of covered providers. The term does not
   19  include duties involving administrative functions or maintaining
   20  the physical environment of a licensed facility, including
   21  grounds maintenance, building maintenance, housekeeping,
   22  laundry, or food preparation.
   23         (e) “Regular contact” means the performance of duties other
   24  than personal care which may require employees to interact in
   25  person on a daily basis with participants, patients, or
   26  residents.
   27         (3) The department shall offer to the general public
   28  education about Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of
   29  dementia. Such education must provide basic information about
   30  the most common forms of dementia, how to identify the signs and
   31  symptoms of dementia, coping skills, how to respond to changes,
   32  planning for the future, and how to access additional resources
   33  about dementia.
   34         (4) Employees of covered providers must complete the
   35  following training for Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of
   36  dementia:
   37         (a) Upon beginning employment, each employee must receive
   38  basic written information about interacting with persons who
   39  have Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia.
   40         (b) Within 30 days after beginning employment, each
   41  employee who provides personal care to or has regular contact
   42  with participants, patients, or residents must complete a 1-hour
   43  training program provided by the department.
   44         1. The department shall provide the training in an online
   45  format at no cost. The 1-hour training program must contain
   46  information on understanding the basics about the most common
   47  forms of dementia, how to identify the signs and symptoms of
   48  dementia, and skills for communicating and interacting with
   49  persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia. A
   50  record of the completion of the training program must be made
   51  available to the covered provider which identifies the training
   52  course, the name of the employee, and the date of completion.
   53         2. A covered provider must maintain a record of the
   54  employee’s completion of the training and, upon written request
   55  of the employee, must provide the employee with a copy of the
   56  record of completion consistent with the employer’s written
   57  policies.
   58         3. An employee who has completed the training required in
   59  this subsection is not required to repeat the program upon
   60  changing employment to a different covered provider.
   61         (c) Within 7 months after beginning employment for a home
   62  health agency, nurse registry, or companion or homemaker service
   63  provider, each employee who provides personal care must complete
   64  2 hours of training in addition to the training required in
   65  paragraphs (a) and (b). The additional training must include,
   66  but is not limited to, behavior management, promoting the
   67  person’s independence in activities of daily living, and skills
   68  in working with families and caregivers.
   69         (d) Within 7 months after beginning employment for a
   70  nursing home, an assisted living facility, an adult family-care
   71  home, or an adult day care center, each employee who provides
   72  personal care must complete 3 hours of training in addition to
   73  the training required in paragraphs (a) and (b). The additional
   74  training must include, but is not limited to, behavior
   75  management, promoting the person’s independence in activities of
   76  daily living, skills in working with families and caregivers,
   77  group and individual activities, maintaining an appropriate
   78  environment, and ethical issues.
   79         (e) For an assisted living facility, adult family-care
   80  home, or adult day care center that advertises and provides, or
   81  is designated to provide, specialized care for persons with
   82  Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia, in addition to
   83  the training specified in paragraphs (a) and (b), employees must
   84  receive the following training:
   85         1. Within 3 months after beginning employment, each
   86  employee who provides personal care to or has regular contact
   87  with the residents or participants must complete the additional
   88  3 hours of training as provided in paragraph (d).
   89         2. Within 6 months after beginning employment, each
   90  employee who provides personal care must complete an additional
   91  4 hours of dementia-specific training. Such training must
   92  include, but is not limited to, understanding Alzheimer’s
   93  disease and related forms of dementia, the stages of Alzheimer’s
   94  disease, communication strategies, medical information, and
   95  stress management.
   96         3. Thereafter, each employee who provides personal care
   97  must participate in at least 4 hours of continuing education
   98  each calendar year through contact hours, on-the-job training,
   99  or electronic learning technology. For this subparagraph, the
  100  term “on-the-job training” means a form of direct coaching in
  101  which a facility administrator or his or her designee instructs
  102  an employee who provides personal care with guidance, support,
  103  or hands-on experience to help develop and refine the employee’s
  104  skills for caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or a
  105  related form of dementia. The continuing education must cover at
  106  least one of the topics included in the dementia-specific
  107  training in which the employee has not received previous
  108  training in the previous calendar year. The continuing education
  109  may be fulfilled and documented in a minimum of one quarter-hour
  110  increments through on-the-job training of the employee by a
  111  facility administrator or his or her designee or by an
  112  electronic learning technology chosen by the facility
  113  administrator. On-the-job training may not account for more than
  114  2 hours of continuing education each calendar year.
  115         (f)1.An employee provided, assigned, or referred by a
  116  health care services pool must complete the training required in
  117  paragraph (c), paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) as applicable to
  118  the covered provider and the position in which the employee will
  119  be working. The documentation verifying the completed training
  120  and continuing education of the employee must, if applicable, be
  121  provided to the covered provider upon request.
  122         2.A health care services pool must verify and maintain
  123  documentation as required under s. 400.980(5) before providing,
  124  assigning, or referring an employee to a covered provider.
  125         (5) The department may establish training curricula
  126  guidelines for the training required in paragraphs (4)(c), (d),
  127  and (e). The department may approve training providers and
  128  training curricula and maintain a list of approved providers.
  129  Approved training may be offered in a variety of formats,
  130  including, but not limited to, in person, electronically, or on
  131  the-job by a facility administrator or his or her designee.
  132  Continuing education under this section does not require the
  133  adoption of training curricula guidelines by the department or
  134  approval of the training provider and curricula by the
  135  department. The department may develop or provide continuing
  136  education training or curricula as an option for covered
  137  providers and employees.
  138         (a) A training provider meeting one of the following
  139  qualifications may offer training in compliance with the
  140  training curricula guidelines without prior approval of the
  141  department:
  142         1. A person approved by an applicable board or the
  143  Department of Health to provide training who is registered with
  144  the electronic continuing education tracking system under s.
  145  456.025; or
  146         2. A training provider approved by the department or its
  147  designee before July 1, 2023.
  148         (b) Training providers qualified under subparagraph (a)1.
  149  must also have:
  150         1. At least 1 year of teaching experience as an educator
  151  for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related
  152  forms of dementia;
  153         2. At least 1 year of practical experience in a program
  154  providing care to persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related
  155  forms of dementia; or
  156         3. Completed a specialized training program in the subject
  157  matter of Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia from
  158  an accredited health care, human services, or gerontology
  159  education provider.
  160         (c) Upon an employee’s completion of the training specified
  161  in paragraphs (4)(c), (d), and (e), the training provider must
  162  provide a record of the completion of the training which
  163  includes the name of the employee, the name of the training
  164  provider, the topics covered, and the date of completion. The
  165  training record is evidence of completion of training in the
  166  identified topic and the employee is not required to repeat
  167  training in that topic if the employee changes employment to a
  168  different covered provider.
  169         (d) Any Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia
  170  training curriculum approved by the department or its designee
  171  before July 1, 2023, remains in effect until the curriculum’s
  172  expiration date.
  173         (6) The department may adopt rules to establish training
  174  curriculum guidelines, requirements for the approval of other
  175  qualified training providers, and a process for conducting a
  176  sampling of training or training curricula as necessary to
  177  monitor for compliance with curricula guidelines.
  178         (7) For a certified nursing assistant as defined in s.
  179  464.201, training hours completed as required under this section
  180  may count toward the total hours of training required to
  181  maintain certification as a nursing assistant.
  182         (8) For a health care practitioner as defined in s.
  183  456.001, training hours completed as required under this section
  184  may count toward the total hours of continuing education
  185  required by that practitioner’s licensing board.
  186         (9) Each person employed, contracted, or referred to
  187  provide services before July 1, 2023, must complete the training
  188  required in this section before July 1, 2026. Proof of
  189  completion of equivalent training completed before July 1, 2023,
  190  shall substitute for the training required in subsection (4).
  191  Each person employed, contracted, or referred to provide
  192  services on or after July 1, 2023, may satisfy the training
  193  requirements by completing training using approved curricula as
  194  specified in paragraph (5)(d) until the effective date of the
  195  rules adopted by the department under subsection (6).
  196         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
  197  400.0239, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  198         400.0239 Quality of Long-Term Care Facility Improvement
  199  Trust Fund.—
  200         (2) Expenditures from the trust fund shall be allowable for
  201  direct support of the following:
  202         (b) Development and implementation of specialized training
  203  programs for long-term care facility personnel who provide
  204  direct care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other
  205  dementias, including training provided under s. 430.5025,
  206  residents at risk of developing pressure sores, and residents
  207  with special nutrition and hydration needs.
  208         Section 3. Section 400.1755, Florida Statutes, is amended
  209  to read:
  210         400.1755 Care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or
  211  related disorders; staff training requirements.—
  212         (1) As a condition of licensure, the employees of
  213  facilities licensed under this part must complete the training
  214  required under s. 430.5025 provide to each of their employees,
  215  upon beginning employment, basic written information about
  216  interacting with persons with Alzheimer’s disease or a related
  217  disorder.
  218         (2) All employees who are expected to, or whose
  219  responsibilities require them to, have direct contact with
  220  residents with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder must,
  221  in addition to being provided the information required in
  222  subsection (1), also have an initial training of at least 1 hour
  223  completed in the first 3 months after beginning employment. This
  224  training must include, but is not limited to, an overview of
  225  dementias and must provide basic skills in communicating with
  226  persons with dementia.
  227         (3) An individual who provides direct care shall be
  228  considered a direct caregiver and must complete the required
  229  initial training and an additional 3 hours of training within 9
  230  months after beginning employment. This training shall include,
  231  but is not limited to, managing problem behaviors, promoting the
  232  resident’s independence in activities of daily living, and
  233  skills in working with families and caregivers.
  234         (a) The required 4 hours of training for certified nursing
  235  assistants are part of the total hours of training required
  236  annually.
  237         (b) For a health care practitioner as defined in s.
  238  456.001, continuing education hours taken as required by that
  239  practitioner’s licensing board shall be counted toward this
  240  total of 4 hours.
  241         (4) For an employee who is a licensed health care
  242  practitioner as defined in s. 456.001, training that is
  243  sanctioned by that practitioner’s licensing board shall be
  244  considered to be approved by the Department of Elderly Affairs.
  245         (5) The Department of Elderly Affairs or its designee must
  246  approve the initial and continuing training provided in the
  247  facilities. The department must approve training offered in a
  248  variety of formats, including, but not limited to, Internet
  249  based training, videos, teleconferencing, and classroom
  250  instruction. The department shall keep a list of current
  251  providers who are approved to provide initial and continuing
  252  training. The department shall adopt rules to establish
  253  standards for the trainers and the training required in this
  254  section.
  255         (6) Upon completing any training listed in this section,
  256  the employee or direct caregiver shall be issued a certificate
  257  that includes the name of the training provider, the topic
  258  covered, and the date and signature of the training provider.
  259  The certificate is evidence of completion of training in the
  260  identified topic, and the employee or direct caregiver is not
  261  required to repeat training in that topic if the employee or
  262  direct caregiver changes employment to a different facility or
  263  to an assisted living facility, home health agency, adult day
  264  care center, or adult family-care home. The direct caregiver
  265  must comply with other applicable continuing education
  266  requirements.
  267         Section 4. Section 400.4785, Florida Statutes, is amended
  268  to read:
  269         400.4785 Patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other related
  270  disorders; staff training requirements; certain disclosures.—
  271         (1) The employees of a home health agency must complete the
  272  training required under s. 430.5025 A home health agency must
  273  provide the following staff training:
  274         (a) Upon beginning employment with the agency, each
  275  employee must receive basic written information about
  276  interacting with participants who have Alzheimer’s disease or
  277  dementia-related disorders.
  278         (b) In addition to the information provided under paragraph
  279  (a), newly hired home health agency personnel who will be
  280  providing direct care to patients must complete 2 hours of
  281  training in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia-related disorders
  282  within 9 months after beginning employment with the agency. This
  283  training must include, but is not limited to, an overview of
  284  dementia, a demonstration of basic skills in communicating with
  285  persons who have dementia, the management of problem behaviors,
  286  information about promoting the client’s independence in
  287  activities of daily living, and instruction in skills for
  288  working with families and caregivers.
  289         (c) For certified nursing assistants, the required 2 hours
  290  of training shall be part of the total hours of training
  291  required annually.
  292         (d) For a health care practitioner as defined in s.
  293  456.001, continuing education hours taken as required by that
  294  practitioner’s licensing board shall be counted toward the total
  295  of 2 hours.
  296         (e) For an employee who is a licensed health care
  297  practitioner as defined in s. 456.001, training that is
  298  sanctioned by that practitioner’s licensing board shall be
  299  considered to be approved by the Department of Elderly Affairs.
  300         (f) The Department of Elderly Affairs, or its designee,
  301  must approve the required training. The department must consider
  302  for approval training offered in a variety of formats. The
  303  department shall keep a list of current providers who are
  304  approved to provide the 2-hour training. The department shall
  305  adopt rules to establish standards for the employees who are
  306  subject to this training, for the trainers, and for the training
  307  required in this section.
  308         (g) Upon completing the training listed in this section,
  309  the employee shall be issued a certificate that states that the
  310  training mandated under this section has been received. The
  311  certificate shall be dated and signed by the training provider.
  312  The certificate is evidence of completion of this training, and
  313  the employee is not required to repeat this training if the
  314  employee changes employment to a different home health agency.
  315         (2)(h) A licensed home health agency whose unduplicated
  316  census during the most recent calendar year was composed
  317  comprised of at least 90 percent of individuals aged 21 years or
  318  younger at the date of admission is exempt from the training
  319  requirements in this section.
  320         (3)(2) An agency licensed under this part which claims that
  321  it provides special care for persons who have Alzheimer’s
  322  disease or other related disorders must disclose in its
  323  advertisements or in a separate document those services that
  324  distinguish the care as being especially applicable to, or
  325  suitable for, such persons. The agency must give a copy of all
  326  such advertisements or a copy of the document to each person who
  327  requests information about the agency and must maintain a copy
  328  of all such advertisements and documents in its records. The
  329  Agency for Health Care Administration shall examine all such
  330  advertisements and documents in the agency’s records as part of
  331  the license renewal procedure.
  332         Section 5. Section 400.51, Florida Statutes, is created to
  333  read:
  334         400.51 Patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other related
  335  disorders; staff training requirements.—A person employed,
  336  contracted, or referred by a nurse registry or a person
  337  registered with the agency to provide companion or homemaker
  338  services must complete the training required under s. 430.5025.
  339         Section 6. Subsection (5) of section 400.980, Florida
  340  Statutes, is amended to read:
  341         400.980 Health care services pools.—
  342         (5) A health care services pool shall verify and maintain
  343  documentation document that each temporary employee or
  344  independent contractor provided, assigned, or referred to a
  345  health care facility has met the licensing, certification,
  346  training, or continuing education requirements, as established
  347  by the appropriate regulatory agency, for the position in which
  348  he or she will be working. The requirements of this subsection
  349  may not be delegated to another provider as defined in s.
  350  408.803.
  351         Section 7. Section 429.178, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  352  read:
  353         429.178 Special care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease
  354  or other related disorders.—
  355         (1) A facility that which advertises that it provides
  356  special care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or other
  357  related disorders must meet the following standards of
  358  operation:
  359         (1)(a)1. If the facility has 17 or more residents, have an
  360  awake staff member on duty at all hours of the day and night; or
  361         (b)2. If the facility has fewer than 17 residents, have an
  362  awake staff member on duty at all hours of the day and night or
  363  have mechanisms in place to monitor and ensure the safety of the
  364  facility’s residents.
  365         (2)(b) Offer activities specifically designed for persons
  366  who are cognitively impaired.
  367         (3)(c) Have a physical environment that provides for the
  368  safety and welfare of the facility’s residents.
  369         (4)(d)Require employed Employ staff to complete who have
  370  completed the training and continuing education required under
  371  s. 430.5025 in subsection (2).
  372         (2)(a) An individual who is employed by a facility that
  373  provides special care for residents who have Alzheimer’s disease
  374  or other related disorders, and who has regular contact with
  375  such residents, must complete up to 4 hours of initial dementia
  376  specific training developed or approved by the department. The
  377  training must be completed within 3 months after beginning
  378  employment and satisfy the core training requirements of s.
  379  429.52(3)(g).
  380         (b) A direct caregiver who is employed by a facility that
  381  provides special care for residents who have Alzheimer’s disease
  382  or other related disorders and provides direct care to such
  383  residents must complete the required initial training and 4
  384  additional hours of training developed or approved by the
  385  department. The training must be completed within 9 months after
  386  beginning employment and satisfy the core training requirements
  387  of s. 429.52(3)(g).
  388         (c) An individual who is employed by a facility that
  389  provides special care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or
  390  other related disorders, but who only has incidental contact
  391  with such residents, must be given, at a minimum, general
  392  information on interacting with individuals with Alzheimer’s
  393  disease or other related disorders, within 3 months after
  394  beginning employment.
  395         (3) In addition to the training required under subsection
  396  (2), a direct caregiver must participate in a minimum of 4
  397  contact hours of continuing education each calendar year. The
  398  continuing education must include one or more topics included in
  399  the dementia-specific training developed or approved by the
  400  department, in which the caregiver has not received previous
  401  training.
  402         (4) Upon completing any training listed in subsection (2),
  403  the employee or direct caregiver shall be issued a certificate
  404  that includes the name of the training provider, the topic
  405  covered, and the date and signature of the training provider.
  406  The certificate is evidence of completion of training in the
  407  identified topic, and the employee or direct caregiver is not
  408  required to repeat training in that topic if the employee or
  409  direct caregiver changes employment to a different facility. The
  410  employee or direct caregiver must comply with other applicable
  411  continuing education requirements.
  412         (5) The department, or its designee, shall approve the
  413  initial and continuing education courses and providers.
  414         (6) The department shall keep a current list of providers
  415  who are approved to provide initial and continuing education for
  416  staff of facilities that provide special care for persons with
  417  Alzheimer’s disease or other related disorders.
  418         (7) Any facility more than 90 percent of whose residents
  419  receive monthly optional supplementation payments is not
  420  required to pay for the training and education programs required
  421  under this section. A facility that has one or more such
  422  residents shall pay a reduced fee that is proportional to the
  423  percentage of such residents in the facility. A facility that
  424  does not have any residents who receive monthly optional
  425  supplementation payments must pay a reasonable fee, as
  426  established by the department, for such training and education
  427  programs.
  428         (8) The department shall adopt rules to establish standards
  429  for trainers and training and to implement this section.
  430         Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 429.52, Florida
  431  Statutes, is amended to read:
  432         429.52 Staff training and educational requirements.—
  433         (1)(a) Each new assisted living facility employee who has
  434  not previously completed core training must attend a preservice
  435  orientation provided by the facility before interacting with
  436  residents. The preservice orientation must be at least 2 hours
  437  in duration and cover topics that help the employee provide
  438  responsible care and respond to the needs of facility residents.
  439  Upon completion, the employee and the administrator of the
  440  facility must sign a statement that the employee completed the
  441  required preservice orientation. The facility must keep the
  442  signed statement in the employee’s personnel record.
  443         (b) Each assisted living facility employee must complete
  444  the training required under s. 430.5025. However, an employee of
  445  an assisted living facility licensed as a limited mental health
  446  facility under s. 429.075 is exempt from the training
  447  requirements under s. 430.5025(4)(d).
  448  
  449  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  450  And the title is amended as follows:
  451         Delete lines 57 - 62
  452  and insert:
  453         made by the act; creating s. 400.51, F.S.; requiring a
  454         person employed, contracted, or referred by a nurse
  455         registry or a person registered with the Agency for
  456         Health Care Administration to provide companion or
  457         homemaker services to complete specified training;
  458         amending s. 400.980, F.S.; requiring health care
  459         services pools to verify and maintain documentation
  460         that certain employees or independent contractors have
  461         met specified licensing, certification, training, and
  462         continuing education requirements; prohibiting
  463         delegation of specified responsibilities; amending s.
  464         429.178, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
  465         by the act; amending s. 429.52, F.S.; conforming
  466         provisions to changes made by the act; exempting
  467         certain employees of assisted living facilities from
  468         specified training requirements; amending ss. 429.83,
  469         429.917, and