Bill Text: FL S0616 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Certification of Assisted Living Facility Administrators
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Children, Families, and Elder Affairs [S0616 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0616-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 616 By Senator Bean 4-00247B-13 2013616__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to certification of assisted living 3 facility administrators; amending s. 429.178, F.S.; 4 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 5 amending s. 429.52, F.S.; requiring assisted living 6 facility administrators to meet the training and 7 education requirements established by a third-party 8 credentialing entity; revising requirements for new 9 administrators; authorizing the Department of Elderly 10 Affairs to require additional training or education of 11 any personal care staff in the facility except an 12 administrator; authorizing the department to adopt 13 rules to establish staff training requirements; 14 providing for the future repeal of s. 429.52(2), (3), 15 (4), (8), (9), and (10), F.S., relating to training 16 and educational requirements for administrators and 17 assisted living facility staff, continuing education, 18 adoption of rules, trainers, and requirements for 19 trainers; creating s. 429.55, F.S.; providing 20 legislative intent; providing definitions; requiring 21 the department to approve third-party credentialing 22 entities for the purpose of developing and 23 administering a professional credentialing program for 24 assisted living facility administrators; requiring the 25 department to approve a third-party credentialing 26 entity that documents compliance with certain minimum 27 standards; requiring a third-party credentialing 28 entity that applies for department approval before a 29 specified date to have its assisted living facility 30 administrator certification program accredited with 31 the National Commission for Certifying Agencies; 32 requiring an administrator to be certified by a third 33 party credentialing entity; providing that an 34 administrator who fails to be certified is subject to 35 an administrative fine; providing an exemption for an 36 administrator licensed under part II of ch. 468, F.S.; 37 requiring an approved third-party credentialing entity 38 to establish a process for certifying persons who meet 39 certain qualifications; requiring an approved third 40 party credentialing entity to establish the core 41 competencies for administrators according to the 42 standards set forth by the National Commission for 43 Certifying Agencies; requiring a third-party 44 credentialing entity to meet certain certification 45 requirements; providing an effective date. 46 47 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 48 49 Section 1. Effective July 1, 2014, paragraphs (a) and (b) 50 of subsection (2) of section 429.178, Florida Statutes, are 51 amended to read: 52 429.178 Special care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease 53 or other related disorders.— 54 (2)(a) An individual who is employed by a facility that 55 provides special care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or 56 other related disorders, and who has regular contact with such 57 residents, must complete up to 4 hours of initial dementia 58 specific training developed or approved by the department. The 59 training shall be completed within 3 months after beginning 60 employmentand shall satisfy the core training requirements of61s.429.52(2)(g). 62 (b) A direct caregiver who is employed by a facility that 63 provides special care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or 64 other related disorders, and who provides direct care to such 65 residents, must complete the required initial training and 4 66 additional hours of training developed or approved by the 67 department. The training shall be completed within 9 months 68 after beginning employmentand shall satisfy the core training69requirements of s.429.52(2)(g). 70 Section 2. Section 429.52, Florida Statutes, is amended to 71 read: 72 429.52 Staff training and educational programs; core 73 educational requirement.— 74 (1) Effective July 1, 2014, administrators shall meet the 75 training and education requirements established by a third-party 76 credentialing entity pursuant to s. 429.55, and other assisted 77 living facility staff shallmustmeet minimum training and 78 education requirements established by the Department of Elderly 79 Affairs by rule. This training and education is intended to 80 assist facilities to appropriately respond to the needs of 81 residents, to maintain resident care and facility standards, and 82 to meet licensure requirements. 83 (2) The department shall establish a competency test and a 84 minimum required score to indicate successful completion of the 85 training and educational requirements. The department, in 86 conjunction with the agency and providers, shall develop the 87 competency testmust be developed by the department in88conjunction with the agency and providers. The required training 89 and education must cover at least the following topics: 90 (a) State law and rules relating to assisted living 91 facilities. 92 (b) Resident rights and identifying and reporting abuse, 93 neglect, and exploitation. 94 (c) Special needs of elderly persons, persons with mental 95 illness, and persons with developmental disabilities and how to 96 meet those needs. 97 (d) Nutrition and food service, including acceptable 98 sanitation practices for preparing, storing, and serving food. 99 (e) Medication management, recordkeeping, and proper 100 techniques for assisting residents with self-administered 101 medication. 102 (f) Firesafety requirements, including fire evacuation 103 drill procedures and other emergency procedures. 104 (g) Care of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related 105 disorders. 106 (3) Before July 1, 2014Effective January 1, 2004, a new 107 facility administrator shall:must108 (a) Complete the required training and education, including 109 the competency test, within a reasonable time after being 110 employed as an administrator, as determined by the department; 111 or 112 (b) Earn and maintain certification as an assisted living 113 facility administrator from a third-party credentialing entity 114 that is approved by the department as provided in s. 429.55. 115 116 Failure to do so is a violation of this part and subjects the 117 violator to an administrative fine as prescribed in s. 429.19. 118 Administrators licensed in accordance with part II of chapter 119 468 are exempt from this requirement.Other licensed120professionals may be exempted, as determined by the department121by rule.122 (4) Administrators are required to participate in 123 continuing education for a minimum of 12 contact hours every 2 124 years. 125 (5) Staff involved with the management of medications and 126 assisting with the self-administration of medications under s. 127 429.256 must complete a minimum of 4 additional hours of 128 training provided by a registered nurse, licensed pharmacist, or 129 department staff. The department shall establish by rule the 130 minimum requirements of this additional training. 131 (6) Other facility staff shall participate in training 132 relevant to their job duties as specified by rule of the 133 department. 134 (7) If the departmentor the agencydetermines that there 135 is a need forare problems in a facility that could be reduced136throughspecific staff training or education beyond that already 137 required under this section, the departmentor the agencymay 138 require, and provide, or cause to be provided, the training or 139 education ofanypersonal care staff in the facility. However, 140 this subsection does not apply to an assisted living facility 141 administrator certified under s. 429.55. 142 (8) The department shall adopt rules related to these 143 training requirements, the competency test, necessary 144 procedures, and competency test fees and shall adopt or contract 145 with another entity to develop a curriculum, which shall be used 146 as the minimum core training requirements. The department shall 147 consult with representatives of stakeholder associations and 148 agencies in the development of the curriculum. 149 (9) The training required by this section mustshallbe 150 conducted by a personpersonsregistered with the department as 151 having the requisite experience and credentials to conduct the 152 training. A person seeking to register as a trainer must provide 153 the department with proof of completion of the minimum core 154 training education requirements, successful passage of the 155 competency test established under this section, and proof of 156 compliance with the continuing education requirement in 157 subsection (4). 158 (10) A person seeking to register as a trainer must also: 159 (a) Provide proof of completion of a 4-year degree from an 160 accredited college or university and must have worked in a 161 management position in an assisted living facility for 3 years 162 after being core certified; 163 (b) Have worked in a management position in an assisted 164 living facility for 5 years after being core certified and have 165 1 year of teaching experience as an educator or staff trainer 166 for persons who work in assisted living facilities or other 167 long-term care settings; 168 (c) Have been previously employed as a core trainer for the 169 department; or 170 (d) Meet other qualification criteria as defined in rule, 171 which the department is authorized to adopt. 172 (11) The department mayshalladopt rules to establish 173 staff trainingtrainer registrationrequirements. 174 Section 3. Effective July 1, 2014, subsections (2), (3), 175 (4), (8), (9), and (10) of section 429.52, Florida Statutes, are 176 repealed. 177 Section 4. Section 429.55, Florida Statutes, is created to 178 read: 179 429.55 Assisted living facility administrator; 180 certification.— 181 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature 182 that each assisted living facility administrator earn and 183 maintain professional certification from a third-party 184 credentialing entity that is approved by the Department of 185 Elderly Affairs. The Legislature further intends that 186 certification will ensure that an administrator has the 187 competencies necessary to appropriately respond to the needs of 188 residents, to maintain resident care and facility standards, and 189 to meet licensure requirements for a facility. The Legislature 190 recognizes professional certification by a nationally recognized 191 professional credentialing organization as an equivalent 192 alternative to a state-run licensure program and, therefore, 193 intends that certification pursuant to this section is 194 sufficient as an acceptable alternative to licensure. 195 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 196 (a) “Assisted living facility administrator certification” 197 means a professional credential awarded by a third-party 198 credentialing entity that is approved by the department to a 199 person who meets core competency requirements in assisted living 200 facility practice areas. 201 (b) “Core competency” means the minimum knowledge and 202 skills necessary to carry out work responsibilities. 203 (c) “Department” means the Department of Elderly Affairs. 204 (d) “Nonprofit organization” means an organization that is 205 exempt from federal income tax under s. 501(c) of the United 206 States Internal Revenue Code. 207 (e) “Third-party credentialing entity” means a nonprofit 208 organization that develops and administers certification 209 programs according to the standards established by the National 210 Commission for Certifying Agencies. 211 (3) THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES.— 212 (a) The department shall approve one or more third-party 213 credentialing entities for the purpose of developing and 214 administering a professional credentialing program for 215 administrators. Within 90 days after receiving documentation 216 from a third-party credentialing entity, the department shall 217 approve a third-party credentialing entity that demonstrates 218 compliance with the following minimum standards: 219 1. Establishment of assisted living facility administrator 220 core competencies, certification standards, testing instruments, 221 and recertification standards according to the standards 222 established by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. 223 2. Establishment of a process to administer the 224 certification application, award, and maintenance processes 225 according to the standards established by the National 226 Commission for Certifying Agencies. 227 3. Demonstrated ability to administer a professional code 228 of ethics and disciplinary process that applies to all certified 229 persons. 230 4. Establishment of, and ability to maintain a publicly 231 accessible Internet-based database that contains information on 232 each person who applies for and holds certification, such as the 233 person’s first and last name, certification status, and ethical 234 or disciplinary history. 235 5. Demonstrated ability to administer biannual continuing 236 education and certification renewal requirements. 237 6. Demonstrated ability to administer an education provider 238 program to approve qualified training entities and to provide 239 precertification training to applicants and continuing education 240 opportunities to certified professionals. 241 (b) A credentialing entity that applies for department 242 approval before December 31, 2013, must have its program for 243 assisted living facility administrator certification accredited 244 with the National Commission for Certifying Agencies by July 1, 245 2014, and must continuously maintain such accreditation. A 246 credentialing entity that applies for department approval after 247 December 31, 2013, must hold accreditation from the National 248 Commission for Certifying Agencies at the time the entity 249 applies for department approval. 250 (4) ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION 251 REQUIRED.—Effective July 1, 2014, an assisted living facility 252 administrator must be certified by a third-party credentialing 253 entity that is approved by the department under this section. An 254 assisted living facility administrator who fails to be certified 255 violates this section and is subject to an administrative fine 256 as provided in s. 429.19. This subsection does not apply to an 257 administrator licensed under part II of chapter 468. 258 (5) GRANDFATHER CLAUSE.—For a period ending on October 1, 259 2014, a third-party credentialing entity that is approved by the 260 department shall establish a process, at no cost to the 261 department or the person, to certify a person who: 262 (a) Is employed as an assisted living facility 263 administrator, and is in compliance with the requirements in s. 264 429.52, including continuing education requirements in place 265 before July 1, 2014; or 266 (b) Has completed before July 1, 2014, the required 267 training as an administrator, including the competency test and 268 continuing education requirements established in s. 429.52. 269 (6) CORE COMPETENCIES.—The third-party credentialing entity 270 that is approved by the department shall establish the core 271 competencies for assisted living facility administrators 272 according to the standards established by the National 273 Commission for Certifying Agencies. 274 (7) CERTIFICATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A certification 275 program of a third-party credentialing entity that is approved 276 by the department must: 277 (a) Be established according to the standards set forth by 278 the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. 279 (b) Be directly related to the core competencies. 280 (c) Establish minimum requirements in each of the following 281 categories: 282 1. Formal education. 283 2. Training. 284 3. On-the-job work experience. 285 4. Supervision. 286 5. Testing. 287 6. Biannual continuing education. 288 (d) Administer a professional code of ethics and 289 disciplinary process that applies to all certified persons. 290 (e) Administer and maintain a publicly accessible Internet 291 based database that contains information on each person who 292 applies for or who holds certification. 293 (f) Approve qualified training entities that provide 294 precertification training to applicants and continuing education 295 to certified assisted living facility administrators. 296 Section 5. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 297 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2013.