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NEWSLETTER FOR FLORIDA’S NURSING HOME
FAMILY COUNCILS AND OTHER CAREGIVERS |
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Daily, in Tallahassee, new proposals governing nursing homes spring forth – some good – some not so good – and we all need to be heads up and check on what is going on. There are 2 main nursing home bills, covering a whole spectrum of issues, and several other bills which focus on a single issue. SB 1202 is the main Senate bill affecting nursing homes , authored primarily by Senator Brown-Waite in the Health, Aging & Long Term Care Committee. It was originally 144 pages long and covered staffing issues, quality of care issues, some pretty onerous tort reform provisions, and a host of other matters. More than 40 amendments were presented at my last count. Somewhere in the process all of the tort reform language was totally deleted and the Senate Health Committee transferred that entire issue to the Senate Judiciary Committee for preparation and presentation of new tort reform provisions. Included in the bill (and of particular interest to residents and their families) are provisions which reinforced the fact that residents and their families were already entitled to place video cameras in resident rooms (cited by Sen. Brown-Waite during the discussion on this issue) but placed some strong restrictions on their usage. Also included are some fair to good provisions affecting quality of care. The Judiciary Committee tort provisions have not yet been identified clearly, but there has been provided to each member of the Committee some factual information about the history of why the present nursing home tort provisions were enacted, and the extent of fraud which has occurred in the nursing home industry as a whole, which causes us to suggest that tort reform should not occur yet, if ever. This Bill, as amended, provides for phased-in CNA staffing of: 2.3 hours per day
per resident effective 1/1/02;
with never below 1 CNA for 20 residents; and further provides for 1.0 hpdpr but never below 1 nurse for 40 residents. (WE SUGGEST THESE PROVISIONS ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. HB 1641 is a bill by Rep. Bennett of Sarasota, which matches SB 1202. SB 1748 is one we need to keep an eye on – it carries very little text, no staff analysis, etc., and is believed to be a “shell” bill to which amendments can be added of any kind at any last minute. The House Elder and Long Term Care Committee’s proposed committee bill has now passed out of committee, after consideration of about 70 amendments, and is 98 pages long (PCB ELT 01-01). THIS BILL IS MUCH BETTER FOR RESIDENTS THAN THE SENATE BILL since it provides 2.9 CNA hpdpr up front (not phased in) with never less than 1 CNA for 15 residents, as well as the 1.0 hpdpr licensed nurse time with never less than 1 nurse for 40 residents (which we believe is still TOO MANY FOR 1 NURSE), and adds .5 registered nurse time, While we believe tort reform is premature at this time (give us consistent quality of care first and then let’s talk about tort reform) this bill contains tort reform measures much less onerous than those originally proposed by the Senate Committee. They appear to have been proposed taking into consideration, at least to some extent, both sides of the issue. Also included are numerous good quality of care provisions, many of which follow the positive proposals offered by Ms. Victoria Fierro, a Task Force member. It also contains a video camera provision. HB 1353 was introduced by Rep.Kosmas as a separate bill providing 3.0 CNA hpdpr and never less than 1 CNA for 20 residents, and 1.0 hpdpr of licensed nurses, with never less than 1 for 40 residents BUT WAS WITHDRAWN BY REP. KOSMAS TODAY. SB 1456 and HB 605 both provide for Alzheimers’ and dementia specific training. We will try to have input from the Alzheimers’ Association regarding these bills soon.’ SB 1652 and HB 961 both do some clean up work on the bill from 2 sessions ago which formed the Governor’s Gold Seal Panel on Excellence in Long Term Care; however, we need to be sure that’s all they do. That panel has been slow to start, but appears to be ready to adopt some rules through which the “Gold Seal” will actually be awarded. Based on the analyses of Florida’s nursing homes which have already occurred in this panel’s meetings, only a handful of homes would be eligible to receive this award. SB 242 and HB 243 both deal only with the video camera issue. Again we need to follow these bills and see where they are going and what they are intended to do. SB 634 and HB 1003 both deal with the delivery of flu and pneumonia vaccines to consenting residents. SB 542 and HB 243 both deal with certificate of need provisions ( we don’t understand why new beds are being authorized and nursing homes are constantly threatening to close). SB 1326 requires increased bed license fees, and provides for increased monitoring. HB 369, which
is a lengthy bill restructuring employment and retention of public employees,
has some provisions regarding background screening and inspections.
Its impact on nursing homes is not clear yet.
IN FURTHERANCE OF THIS, YOU MAY WISH TO CONTACT THE GOVERNOR, THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE HEALTH, AGING AND LONG TERM CARE COMMITTEE, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE (WHICH WILL BE OVERSEEING THE TORT REFORM ISSUES), THE SPONSOR OF SENATE BILL 1202, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE COUNCIL FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE ELDER AND LONG TERM CARE COMMITTEE. GOVERNOR JEB BUSH
SENATE PRES. JOHN McKAY
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE TOM FEENEY
SEN. BURT SAUNDERS
SEN. LOCKE BURT
SEN. GINNY BROWN-WAITE
REP. NANCY ARGENZIANO
REP. CAROLE GREEN
E MAIL ADDRESSES: GOVERNOR - [email protected]
THE FOLLOWING ARE MEMBERS OF THE SUBJECT COMMITTEES– LET THEM HEAR YOUR VOICE: SENATE HEALTH, AGING AND LONG TERM CARE COMMITTEE: REPUBLICANS: SAUNDERS (Ch.), BROWN-WAITE, CLARY, COWIN, PEADEN
& PRUITT;
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: REPUBLICANS: BURT (Ch.), RUDY GARCIA, HORNE, PEADEN, SEBESTA,
VILLALOBAS & WEBSTER
HOUSE ELDER AND LONG TERM CARE COMMITTEE: REPUBLICANS: GREEN (Ch.), ATWATER, GIBSON, NEGRON, PAUL,
RUSSELL, SIMMONS & WATERS
YOU SHOULD ALSO LET YOUR OWN DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS KNOW
HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THESE ISSUES. SOONER OR LATER THEIR VOTE WILL
BE IMPORTANT WHETHER THEY ARE ON THE SUBJECT COMMITTEES OR NOT.
WE HIGHLY COMMEND THE AARP FOR THE STRONG STAND IT IS TAKING TO SUPPORT IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF CARE IN FLORIDA’S NURSING HOMES, AND MAINTAINING THE RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS TO HOLD A NURSING HOME ACCOUNTABLE BY OPPOSING TORT REFORM. A RECENT SURVEY OF MEMBERS INDICATES ABOUT 3/4THS OF THE STATE’S 2.6 MILLION MEMBERS STRONGLY SUPPORT THE LEADERSHIP OF AARP IN THESE ISSUES. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THESE ISSUES, YOU CAN CONTACT THE NIGHT WATCHMAN AT: [email protected] Or write THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, P. O. BOX 13553, TAMPA, FLORIDA 33681-3553 ADVOCACY THERE ARE ADVOCATES HERE IN FLORIDA, AND ELSEWHERE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, WHO ARE WORKING CONSTANTLY TO IMPROVE THE LOT OF OUR LOVED ONES IN NURSING HOMES. EACH HAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH, BUT ALL HAVE THE SAME HEART. THIS IS A PARTIAL LIST FOR YOUR INFORMATION: NATIONAL CITIZENS COALITION FOR NURSING HOME REFORM (NCCNHR) www.nccnhr.org
(202-332-2275)
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