Dangerous pending bill allows nursing homes to commit crimes March 12, 2009

Nursing homes are attempting to avoid prosecution for crimes against Florida’s elderly.

Amazing as it may seem, a pending legislative bill pre-filed in the 2009 Florida Legislature would allow nursing homes to commit crimes against their patients, neglect their patients and not be held accountable. Undoubtedly, nursing home lobbyists and special interests have proposed this bill. It provides that if nursing homes comply with minimum staffing requirements they cannot be held liable in criminal, regulatory or civil actions. This means that if they commit crimes against their patients they would be immune from prosecution.  It also means that if they neglect their patients they would not be subject to discipline by the state agency that licenses them. They would also not be accountable to their patients for the suffering they cause by their negligence.  For example, if a nursing home’s negligence causes a patient to acquire a huge bedsore that later becomes infected and causes pain, suffering and even death, the nursing home would not be responsible.
This is one of the most dangerous bills proposed in the Florida Legislature in the last decade. If the Legislature passes the bill it would be abdicating his responsibility to protect the elderly in the state of Florida.
Nursing homes in Florida are required by law to have minimum staff available to provide care for their patients. The operative word is “minimum.” Nursing homes that have patients requiring a higher level of care because of the acuity of their illness should not be allowed to avoid responsibility for neglecting their patients by claiming that they meet minimum staff standards when they know their patients need more staff attention than the minimum required.
Further, just because a nursing home may have enough staff on hand to comply with the requirement does not mean that those staff will do a good job.  To protect the elderly in Florida, nursing home administrators and supervisors must be given the incentive to be sure that their staff are properly trained and supervised so that they provide good care and they do not abuse their patients.
Nursing home care has improved in Florida over the last 20 years in part because nursing homes have been subject to lawsuits to be held accountable for the suffering they cause. This bill would be a drastic step backwards and would allow nursing homes to avoid accountability for their crimes, and neglect of patients and negligence.  Central Florida and Volusia County voters should contact their state legislators and warn them of the dangers of this bill.