Bill Text: FL S1132 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Personal Care Attendants
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-22 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 485 (Ch. 2021-163) [S1132 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1132-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for CS for SB 1132 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Health Policy; and Senator Bean 576-04470-21 20211132c2 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 are 5 participating in a certain training program developed 6 by the Agency for Health Care Administration in 7 consultation with the Board of Nursing; providing 8 minimum requirements for such program; providing 9 limitations on such personal care attendants’ 10 practice; requiring the agency to adopt rules; 11 requiring the agency to authorize the continuation of 12 certain personal care attendant programs under certain 13 circumstances; amending s. 400.211, F.S.; authorizing 14 certain persons to be employed by a nursing home 15 facility as personal care attendants for a specified 16 period if a certain training requirement is met; 17 defining the term “personal care attendants”; 18 providing an effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1. Paragraph (w) is added to subsection (1) of 23 section 400.141, Florida Statutes, to read: 24 400.141 Administration and management of nursing home 25 facilities.— 26 (1) Every licensed facility shall comply with all 27 applicable standards and rules of the agency and shall: 28 (w) Be allowed to employ personal care attendants as 29 defined in s. 400.211(2)(d), if such personal care attendants 30 are participating in the personal care attendant training 31 program developed by the agency, in accordance with 42 C.F.R. 32 ss. 483.151-483.154, in consultation with the Board of Nursing. 33 1. The personal care attendant program must consist of a 34 minimum of 16 hours of education and must include all of the 35 topics and lessons specified in the program curriculum. 36 2. The program curriculum must include, but need not be 37 limited to, training in all of the following content areas: 38 a. Residents’ rights. 39 b. Confidentiality of residents’ personal information and 40 medical records. 41 c. Control of contagious and infectious diseases. 42 d. Emergency response measures. 43 e. Assistance with activities of daily living. 44 f. Measuring vital signs. 45 g. Skin care and pressure sores prevention. 46 h. Portable oxygen use and safety. 47 i. Nutrition and hydration. 48 j. Dementia care. 49 3. A personal care attendant must complete the 16 hours of 50 required education before having any direct contact with a 51 resident. 52 4. A personal care attendant may not perform any task that 53 requires clinical assessment, interpretation, or judgment. 54 5. An individual employed as a personal care attendant 55 under s. 400.211(2)(d) must work exclusively for one nursing 56 facility before becoming a certified nursing assistant. 57 58 The agency shall adopt rules necessary to implement this 59 paragraph. If the state of emergency declared by the Governor 60 pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-52 is terminated before the 61 agency adopts rules to implement this paragraph, the agency 62 shall authorize the continuation of the personal care attendant 63 program until the agency adopts such rules. 64 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 400.211, Florida 65 Statutes, is amended to read: 66 400.211 Persons employed as nursing assistants; 67 certification requirement.— 68 (2) The following categories of persons who are not 69 certified as nursing assistants under part II of chapter 464 may 70 be employed by a nursing facility for a single consecutive 71 period of 4 months: 72 (a) Persons who are enrolled in, or have completed, a 73 state-approved nursing assistant program.;74 (b) Persons who have been positively verified as actively 75 certified and on the registry in another state with no findings 76 of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in that state.; or77 (c) Persons who have preliminarily passed the state’s 78 certification exam. 79 (d) Persons who are employed as personal care attendants 80 and who have completed the personal care attendant training 81 program developed pursuant to s. 400.141(1)(w). As used in this 82 paragraph, the term “personal care attendants” means persons who 83 meet the training requirement in s. 400.141(1)(w) and provide 84 care to and assist residents with tasks related to the 85 activities of daily living. 86 87 The certification requirement must be met within 4 months after 88 initial employment as a nursing assistant in a licensed nursing 89 facility. 90 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.