Florida Statutes 400.19 – Right of entry and inspection
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 400.19
- Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration, which is the licensing agency under this part. See Florida Statutes 400.021
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Facility: means any institution, building, residence, private home, or other place, whether operated for profit or not, including a place operated by a county or municipality, which undertakes through its ownership or management to provide for a period exceeding 24-hour nursing care, personal care, or custodial care for three or more persons not related to the owner or manager by blood or marriage, who by reason of illness, physical infirmity, or advanced age require such services, but does not include any place providing care and treatment primarily for the acutely ill. See Florida Statutes 400.021
- Nursing home facility: means any facility which provides nursing services as defined in part I of chapter 464 and which is licensed according to this part. See Florida Statutes 400.021
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(1) In accordance with part II of chapter 408, the agency and any of its designated officers or employees or a representative of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or the local long-term care ombudsman council shall have the right to enter upon and into the premises of any facility licensed pursuant to this part, or any distinct nursing home unit of a hospital licensed under chapter 395 or any freestanding facility licensed under chapter 395 which provides extended care or other long-term care services, at any reasonable time in order to determine the state of compliance with this part, part II of chapter 408, and applicable rules in force pursuant thereto. The agency shall, within 60 days after receipt of a complaint made by a resident or resident’s representative, complete its investigation and provide to the complainant its findings and resolution.
(2) The agency shall coordinate nursing home facility licensing activities and responsibilities of any duly designated officer or employee involved in nursing home facility inspection to assure necessary, equitable, and consistent supervision of inspection personnel without unnecessary duplication of inspections, consultation services, or complaint investigations.
(3) The agency shall conduct periodic, unannounced licensure inspections to determine compliance by the licensee with statutes, and with rules adopted under those statutes, governing minimum standards of construction, quality and adequacy of care, and rights of residents. If the facility has been cited for a class I deficiency or has been cited for two or more class II deficiencies arising from separate surveys or investigations within a 60-day period, or has had three or more substantiated complaints within a 6-month period, each resulting in at least one class I or class II deficiency, the agency shall conduct biannual licensure surveys until the facility has two consecutive licensure surveys without a citation for a Class I or a Class II deficiency. In addition to any other fees or fines in this part, the agency shall assess a fine of $6,000 for the biannual licensure surveys. The agency may adjust such fine by the change in the Consumer Price Index, based on the 12 months immediately preceding the increase, to cover the cost of the additional surveys. The agency shall verify through subsequent inspection that any deficiency identified during inspection is corrected. However, the agency may verify the correction of a class III or class IV deficiency unrelated to resident rights or resident care without reinspecting the facility if adequate written documentation has been received from the facility, which provides assurance that the deficiency has been corrected. The giving or causing to be given of advance notice of such unannounced inspections by an employee of the agency to any unauthorized person shall constitute cause for suspension of not fewer than 5 working days according to chapter 110.
(4) The agency shall conduct unannounced onsite facility reviews following written verification of licensee noncompliance in instances in which a representative of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or long-term care ombudsman council, pursuant to ss. 400.0071 and 400.0075, has received a complaint and has documented deficiencies in resident care or in the physical plant of the facility that threaten the health, safety, or security of residents, or when the agency documents through inspection that conditions in a facility present a direct or indirect threat to the health, safety, or security of residents. However, the agency shall conduct unannounced onsite reviews every 3 months of each facility while the facility has a conditional license. Deficiencies related to physical plant do not require followup reviews after the agency has determined that correction of the deficiency has been accomplished and that the correction is of the nature that continued compliance can be reasonably expected.