Florida Senate - 2015                              CS for SB 904
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       
       588-02399-15                                           2015904c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to home health services; amending. s.
    3         400.462, F.S.; defining a term; amending s. 400.464,
    4         F.S.; allowing home health agencies to operate related
    5         offices inside of the main office’s geographic service
    6         area without an additional license; amending s.
    7         400.506, F.S.; providing for the licensure of more
    8         than one nurse registry operational site within the
    9         same geographic service area; authorizing a licensed
   10         nurse registry to operate a satellite office;
   11         requiring a nurse registry operational site to keep
   12         all original records; requiring a nurse registry to
   13         provide notice and certain evidence before it
   14         relocates an operational site or opens a satellite
   15         office; reenacting ss. 400.497, 817.505(3)(h),
   16         400.506(3), F.S., to incorporate the amendment made to
   17         s. 400.506, F.S., in references thereto; providing an
   18         effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Present subsections (28) and (29) of section
   23  400.462, Florida Statues, are redesignated as subsections (29)
   24  and (30), respectively, and a new subsection (28) is added to
   25  that section, to read:
   26         400.462 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
   27         (28) Satellite office” means a secondary office of a nurse
   28  registry established pursuant to s. 400.506(1) in the same
   29  geographic service area as a licensed nurse registry operational
   30  site.
   31         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 400.464, Florida
   32  Statutes, is amended to read:
   33         400.464 Home health agencies to be licensed; expiration of
   34  license; exemptions; unlawful acts; penalties.—
   35         (2) If the licensed home health agency operates related
   36  offices, each related office outside the geographic service area
   37  county where the main office is located must be separately
   38  licensed. The counties where the related offices are operating
   39  must be specified on the license in the main office.
   40         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 400.506, Florida
   41  Statutes, is amended to read:
   42         400.506 Licensure of nurse registries; requirements;
   43  penalties.—
   44         (1)(a) A nurse registry is exempt from the licensing
   45  requirements of a home health agency but must be licensed as a
   46  nurse registry. The requirements of part II of chapter 408 apply
   47  to the provision of services that require licensure pursuant to
   48  ss. 400.506-400.518 and part II of chapter 408 and to entities
   49  licensed by or applying for such license from the Agency for
   50  Health Care Administration pursuant to ss. 400.506-400.518. A
   51  license issued by the agency is required for the operation of a
   52  nurse registry. Each operational site of the nurse registry must
   53  be licensed, unless there is more than one site within the
   54  geographic service area for which a license is issued. In such
   55  case, a county. If there is more than one site within a county,
   56  only one license per county is required. each operational site
   57  within the geographic service area must be listed on the
   58  license.
   59         (b) A licensed nurse registry may operate a satellite
   60  office as defined in s. 400.462. The nurse registry operational
   61  site must administer all satellite offices. A satellite office
   62  may store supplies and records, register and process
   63  contractors, and conduct business by telephone as is done at
   64  other operational sites. Nurse registries may use signs and
   65  advertisements to notify the public of the location of a
   66  satellite office. All original records must be kept at the
   67  operational site.
   68         (c) A nurse registry must provide notice, in writing, to
   69  the agency at the state and area office levels, as required by
   70  agency rule, of a proposed change of address for an operational
   71  site or the opening of a satellite office. Before relocating an
   72  operational site or opening a satellite office, the nurse
   73  registry must submit evidence of its legal right to use the
   74  proposed property, as well as a certificate of occupancy, a
   75  certificate of use, or other evidence that the property is zoned
   76  for nurse registry use.
   77         Section 4. Section 400.497, paragraph (h) of subsection (3)
   78  of s. 817.505, and subsection (3) of s. 400.506, Florida
   79  Statutes, are reenacted for the purpose of incorporating the
   80  amendment made by this act to s. 400.506, Florida Statutes, in
   81  references thereto.
   82         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.