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