SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

CS/HB 355

Health Care Patient Protection

VERSION H 355 er · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

2 An act relating to health care patient protection;
3 amending s. 395.1012, F.S.; requiring hospital
4 emergency departments to develop and implement
5 policies and procedures, conduct training, record
6 weights in a certain manner, designate a pediatric
7 emergency care coordinator, and conduct specified
8 assessments; authorizing a hospital with an emergency
9 department to conduct the National Pediatric Readiness
10 Project's Open Assessment under certain conditions;
11 amending s. 395.1055, F.S.; requiring the agency to
12 adopt certain rules for comprehensive emergency
13 management plans, and, in consultation with the
14 Florida Emergency Medical Services for Children State
15 Partnership Program, establish minimum standards for
16 pediatric patient care in hospital emergency
17 departments; amending s. 408.05, F.S.; requiring the
18 agency to collect and publish the results of specified
19 assessments submitted by hospitals by specified dates;
20 providing requirements for the collection and
21 publication of such assessment scores; providing an
22 effective date.
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26 Section 1. Subsections (6) and (7) are added to section
27 395.1012, Florida Statutes, to read:
28 395.1012 Patient safety.—
29 (6)(a) Each hospital with an emergency department must:
30 1. Develop and implement policies and procedures for
31 pediatric patient care in the emergency department which reflect
32 evidence-based best practices relating to, at a minimum:
33 a. Triage.
34 b. Measuring and recording vital signs.
35 c. Weighing and recording weights in kilograms.
36 d. Calculating medication dosages.
37 e. Use of pediatric instruments.
38 2. Conduct training at least annually on the policies and
39 procedures developed under this subsection. The training must
40 include, at a minimum:
41 a. The use of pediatric instruments, as applicable to each
42 licensure type, using clinical simulation as defined in s.
43 464.003.
44 b. Drills that simulate emergency situations. Each
45 emergency department must conduct drills at least annually.
46 (b) Each hospital emergency department must:
47 1. Designate a pediatric emergency care coordinator. The
48 pediatric emergency care coordinator must be a physician or a
49 physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a
50 nurse licensed under chapter 464, or a paramedic licensed under
51 chapter 401. The pediatric emergency care coordinator is
52 responsible for implementation of and ensuring fidelity to the
53 policies and procedures adopted under this subsection.
54 2. Conduct the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment
55 developed by the National Pediatric Readiness Project, in
56 accordance with timelines established by the National Pediatric
57 Readiness Project.
58 (7) Each hospital with an emergency department may conduct
59 the National Pediatric Readiness Project's Open Assessment
60 during a year in which the National Pediatric Readiness
61 Assessment is not conducted.
62 Section 2. Subsections (4) through (19) of section
63 395.1055, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5)
64 through (20), respectively, paragraph (c) of subsection (1) is
65 amended, and a new subsection (4) is added to that section to
66 read:
67 395.1055 Rules and enforcement.—
68 (1) The agency shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
69 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this part,
70 which shall include reasonable and fair minimum standards for
71 ensuring that:
72 (c) A comprehensive emergency management plan is prepared
73 and updated annually. Such standards must be included in the
74 rules adopted by the agency after consulting with the Division
75 of Emergency Management. At a minimum, the rules must provide
76 for plan components that address emergency evacuation
77 transportation; adequate sheltering arrangements; postdisaster
78 activities, including emergency power, food, and water;
79 postdisaster transportation; supplies; staffing; emergency
80 equipment; individual identification of residents and transfer
81 of records, and responding to family inquiries, and the needs of
82 pediatric and neonatal patients. The comprehensive emergency
83 management plan is subject to review and approval by the local
84 emergency management agency. During its review, the local
85 emergency management agency shall ensure that the following
86 agencies, at a minimum, are given the opportunity to review the
87 plan: the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Department of
88 Health, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the
89 Division of Emergency Management. Also, appropriate volunteer
90 organizations must be given the opportunity to review the plan.
91 The local emergency management agency shall complete its review
92 within 60 days and either approve the plan or advise the
93 facility of necessary revisions.
94 (4) The agency, in consultation with the Florida Emergency
95 Medical Services for Children State Partnership Program, shall
96 adopt rules that establish minimum standards for pediatric
97 patient care in hospital emergency departments, including, but
98 not limited to, availability and immediate access to pediatric
99 specific equipment and supplies.
100 Section 3. Paragraph (n) is added to subsection (3) of
101 section 408.05, Florida Statutes, to read:
102 408.05 Florida Center for Health Information and
103 Transparency.—
104 (3) HEALTH INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY.—In order to
105 disseminate and facilitate the availability of comparable and
106 uniform health information, the agency shall perform the
107 following functions:
108 (n)1. Collect the overall assessment score of National
109 Pediatric Readiness Assessments conducted by hospital emergency
110 departments pursuant to s. 395.1012(6), from the Florida
111 Emergency Medical Services for Children State Partnership
112 Program by December 31, 2026, and by each December 31 during a
113 year in which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is
114 conducted thereafter.
115 2. By April 1, 2027, and each April 1 following a year in
116 which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is conducted
117 thereafter, publish the overall assessment score for each
118 hospital emergency department, and provide a comparison to the
119 national average score when it becomes available.
120 3. Collect and publish no more than one overall assessment
121 score per hospital, per year, of assessments conducted pursuant
122 to s. 395.1012(7), and provide a comparison to the hospital
123 emergency department's most recently published score pursuant to
124 subparagraph 2.
125 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.