No. CS/HB 355
Filed under Healthcare.
Health Care Patient Protection; Requires hospital emergency departments to develop & implement policies & procedures, conduct training, record weights in certain manner, designate pediatric emergency care coordinator, & conduct specified assessments; authorizes hospital with emergency department to conduct National Pediatric Readiness Project's Open Assessment under certain conditions; requires agency to adopt certain rules for comprehensive emergency management plans, and, in consultation with Florida Emergency Medical Services for Children State Partnership Program, establish minimum standards for pediatric patient care in hospital emergency departments; requires agency to collect & publish results of specified assessments submitted by hospitals by specified dates; provides requirements for collection & publication of such assessment scores.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDEvery hospital emergency department must adopt evidence-based pediatric care policies covering triage, vital signs, weighing children in kilograms, medication dosing, and pediatric equipment, plus annual training and simulated emergency drills.
Each hospital ED must name a pediatric emergency care coordinator -- a licensed physician, PA, nurse, or paramedic -- and complete the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment on schedule; in off years it may instead do a lighter Open Assessment.
The state health agency must write rules setting minimum pediatric-care standards for ER equipment and supplies, and hospitals' disaster plans must now specifically address the needs of pediatric and neonatal patients.
Starting in 2027, the state must publish every hospital's pediatric readiness score each year, compared to the national average, giving parents a public, hospital-by-hospital way to compare emergency care quality.
AIEach hospital emergency department must develop written, evidence-based policies for treating children, covering triage, recording vital signs, weighing patients in kilograms, calculating medication doses, and using pediatric-sized instruments.
AIEach hospital emergency department must designate a coordinator, who must be a licensed physician, physician assistant, nurse, or paramedic, responsible for making sure the new pediatric policies are actually followed.
AIEach hospital ED must complete the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment on the national program's timeline. In a year that assessment isn't required, a hospital may instead conduct the program's lighter Open Assessment.
AIStarting by April 1, 2027, and every year after, the state must publish each hospital emergency department's National Pediatric Readiness Assessment score and compare it to the national average once one exists.
AIThe state health agency, working with the state's pediatric emergency medical services partnership, must write rules setting minimum standards for pediatric ER care, covering at least the availability of pediatric-specific equipment and supplies.
AIA hospital's comprehensive emergency management plan, which already covers things like sheltering, evacuation transport, and supplies, must now also specifically address the needs of pediatric and neonatal patients, not just adults.
AIHospital ERs must train staff at least once a year on the pediatric policies, including hands-on clinical simulation with pediatric instruments, and must run at least one drill simulating a pediatric emergency.
AIFor the optional Open Assessment used in off years, the state may collect and publish no more than one overall score per hospital per year, compared to that hospital's most recently published score.