Florida Senate - 2020                                    SB 1516
       
       
        
       By Senator Harrell
       
       
       
       
       
       25-01544A-20                                          20201516__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Organ Transplant Technical
    3         Advisory Council; amending s. 765.53, F.S.; requiring
    4         the Agency for Health Care Administration to establish
    5         the Organ Transplant Technical Advisory Council for a
    6         specified purpose; providing for membership, meetings,
    7         and duties of the council; requiring the council to
    8         submit a report to the Governor, the Legislature, the
    9         Secretary of Health Care Administration, and the State
   10         Surgeon General by a specified date; extending
   11         sovereign immunity to council members under certain
   12         circumstances; requiring the agency to amend or adopt
   13         specified rules based on the council’s
   14         recommendations; providing for expiration of a certain
   15         provision; amending s. 408.0455, F.S.; revising a
   16         provision related to the operation of certain rules
   17         adopted by the agency; providing an effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Section 765.53, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   22  read:
   23         (Substantial rewording of section. See
   24         s. 765.53, F.S., for present text.)
   25         765.53 Organ Transplant Technical Advisory Council.—
   26         (1) CREATION AND PURPOSE.—The Organ Transplant Technical
   27  Advisory Council, an advisory council as defined in s. 20.03, is
   28  created within the agency to assist the agency in developing
   29  standards for quality and outcomes at adult and pediatric organ
   30  transplant programs. Unless expressly provided otherwise in this
   31  section, the council shall operate in a manner consistent with
   32  s. 20.052.
   33         (2)MEMBERS.—
   34         (a)Voting members of the council must have technical
   35  expertise in adult or pediatric organ transplantation. Each
   36  chief executive officer of the following hospitals shall appoint
   37  one representative, who must be an organ transplant surgeon
   38  licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, to serve as a voting
   39  member of the council:
   40         1.Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
   41         2.Tampa General Hospital in Tampa.
   42         3.University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in
   43  Gainesville.
   44         4.AdventHealth Orlando in Orlando.
   45         5. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
   46         6. Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston.
   47         7. Largo Medical Center in Largo.
   48         8. Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
   49         9.Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
   50         10.Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
   51         11. H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute,
   52  Inc., in Tampa.
   53         12.University of Miami Hospital in Miami.
   54         (b)The Secretary of Health Care Administration shall serve
   55  as the chair and a nonvoting member of the council.
   56         (c)The Secretary of Health Care Administration may appoint
   57  any of the following individuals to serve as a nonvoting member
   58  of the council:
   59         1. The State Surgeon General.
   60         2. A parent of a child who has had an organ transplant.
   61         3. An adult who has had an organ transplant.
   62         4. One representative from each of the following:
   63         a.The Florida Hospital Association.
   64         b.The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida.
   65         c.HCA Healthcare.
   66         (d)Appointments made under paragraph (a) are contingent
   67  upon the hospital’s compliance with chapter 395 and rules
   68  adopted thereunder. A member of the council appointed under
   69  paragraph (a) whose hospital fails to comply with such law and
   70  rules may serve only as a nonvoting member until the hospital
   71  comes into compliance.
   72         (e)Any vacancy on the council must be filled in the same
   73  manner as the original appointment. Members are eligible for
   74  reappointment.
   75         (f)Members of the council shall serve without compensation
   76  but may be reimbursed as provided in s. 112.061 for per diem and
   77  travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties
   78  under this section.
   79         (3) MEETINGS.—The council shall meet at least annually and
   80  upon the call of the chair. The council may use any method of
   81  telecommunications to conduct its meetings.
   82         (4) DUTIES.—The council shall recommend to the agency
   83  standards for quality care of adult and pediatric organ
   84  transplant patients, including recommendations on minimum volume
   85  of transplants by organ type, personnel, physical plant,
   86  equipment, transportation, and data reporting for hospitals that
   87  perform organ transplants. The council shall also develop
   88  recommendations for improving education, outreach, and
   89  communication between hospitals, patients, and the public, with
   90  an emphasis on potential and prospective donors, including
   91  recommendations for clear explanations to the public of relevant
   92  laws, rules, and regulations; requirements for coordinated
   93  communication between hospitals, between hospitals and patients,
   94  and between hospitals and prospective donors; and
   95  recommendations for providing education to the public on the
   96  organ donation process, with an emphasis on educating potential
   97  living donors. When developing its recommendations, the council
   98  shall review any relevant existing or proposed agency rules and
   99  may provide recommendations to the agency on amendments to such
  100  rules. A voting member may vote on standards related to a
  101  specific type of organ only if he or she represents a hospital
  102  that has a transplant program for that organ.
  103         (5) REPORT.—By October 1, 2021, the council shall submit a
  104  report of its recommendations to the Governor, the President of
  105  the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
  106  Secretary of Health Care Administration, and the State Surgeon
  107  General.
  108         (6)SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—Members of the council acting in
  109  good faith in the performance of their duties under this section
  110  are considered agents of the state for purposes of s. 768.28.
  111         (7)AGENCY RULES.—
  112         (a)Based on the recommendations of the council, the agency
  113  shall amend or adopt rules for organ transplant programs so that
  114  such rules include at least all of the following:
  115         1. Quality of care standards for adult and pediatric organ
  116  transplants, including minimum volume thresholds by organ type,
  117  personnel, physical plant, equipment, transportation, and data
  118  reporting.
  119         2. Outcome and survival rate standards that meet or exceed
  120  nationally established levels of performance in organ
  121  transplantation.
  122         3. Specific steps to be taken by the agency and licensed
  123  facilities when the facilities do not meet the volume, outcome,
  124  or survival rate standards within a specified timeframe that
  125  includes the time required for detailed case reviews and the
  126  development and implementation of corrective action plans.
  127         (b)This subsection expires upon the agency’s adoption of
  128  organ transplant program rules in accordance with paragraph (a).
  129         Section 2. Section 408.0455, Florida Statutes, is amended
  130  to read:
  131         408.0455 Rules; pending proceedings.—The rules of the
  132  agency in effect on June 30, 2004, shall remain in effect and
  133  are shall be enforceable by the agency with respect to ss.
  134  408.031-408.045 until such rules are repealed or amended by the
  135  agency. Rules 59C-1.039 through 59C-1.044, Florida
  136  Administrative Code, including, but not limited to, the minimum
  137  volume standards for organ transplantation and neonatal
  138  intensive care services, remain in effect for the sole purpose
  139  of maintaining licensure requirements for the applicable
  140  services until the agency has adopted rules for the
  141  corresponding services pursuant to s. 395.1055(1)(i), Florida
  142  Statutes 2018.
  143         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.