A measure that would tighten oversight of Florida’s 3,000 assisted living facilities and penalize those that abuse or neglect their residents was approved unanimously Thursday by the Senate Health Policy Committee.
The bill (SB 646) requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to inspect assisted living facilities, rate them for consumers and revoke or deny the licenses of those whose staffers deliberately harm residents.
The bill would increase the fines for repeated serious violations and require additional inspections in those cases.
Last year, a similar measure passed the Senate, but the House didn’t take it up. This year, however, a flurry of related bills was introduced in the House.
The Agency for Health Care Administration has been under fire since a 2011 series by the Miami Herald, “Neglected to Death,” depicted a series of abuses at assisted living facilities that resulted in patients’ deaths, an average of one per month at that time.
From: Daily Record