The Florida Senate

400.121  Denial, suspension, revocation of license; moratorium on admissions; administrative fines; procedure; order to increase staffing.--

(1)  The agency may deny, revoke, or suspend a license or impose an administrative fine, not to exceed $500 per violation per day, for a violation of any provision of s. 400.102(1). All hearings shall be held within the county in which the licensee or applicant operates or applies for a license to operate a facility as defined herein.

(2)  The agency, as a part of any final order issued by it under this part, may impose such fine as it deems proper, except that such fine may not exceed $500 for each violation. Each day a violation of this part occurs constitutes a separate violation and is subject to a separate fine, but in no event may any fine aggregate more than $5,000. A fine may be levied pursuant to this section in lieu of and notwithstanding the provisions of s. 400.23. Fines paid by any nursing home facility licensee under this subsection shall be deposited in the Resident Protection Trust Fund and expended as provided in s. 400.063.

(3)  The agency may issue an order immediately suspending or revoking a license when it determines that any condition in the facility presents a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents in the facility.

(4)(a)  The agency may impose an immediate moratorium on admissions to any facility when the agency determines that any condition in the facility presents a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents in the facility.

(b)  Where the agency has placed a moratorium on admissions on any facility two times within a 7-year period, the agency may suspend the license of the nursing home and the facility's management company, if any. The licensee shall be afforded an administrative hearing within 90 days after the suspension to determine whether the license should be revoked. During the suspension, the agency shall take the facility into receivership and shall operate the facility.

(5)  An action taken by the agency to deny, suspend, or revoke a facility's license under this part, in which the agency claims that the facility owner or an employee of the facility has threatened the health, safety, or welfare of a resident of the facility, shall be heard by the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services within 120 days after receipt of the facility's request for a hearing, unless the time limitation is waived by both parties. The administrative law judge must render a decision within 30 days after receipt of a proposed recommended order. This subsection does not modify the requirement that an administrative hearing be held within 90 days after a license is suspended under paragraph (4)(b).

(6)  The agency is authorized to require a facility to increase staffing beyond the minimum required by law, if the agency has taken administrative action against the facility for care-related deficiencies directly attributable to insufficient staff. Under such circumstances, the facility may request an expedited interim rate increase. The agency shall process the request within 10 days after receipt of all required documentation from the facility. A facility that fails to maintain the required increased staffing is subject to a fine of $500 per day for each day the staffing is below the level required by the agency.

History.--s. 11, ch. 69-309; s. 1, ch. 69-267; ss. 19, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 9, ch. 70-361; s. 1, ch. 70-439; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 239, ch. 77-147; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 19, ch. 78-95; ss. 6, 9, ch. 79-268; ss. 7, 18, ch. 80-186; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 15, 79, 83, ch. 83-181; s. 30, ch. 93-177; ss. 14, 49, ch. 93-217; s. 36, ch. 96-169; s. 1, ch. 98-248; s. 11, ch. 99-394.