yesicna

Florida state law says that a homemaker or a companion cannot provide any hands-on personal care to a client. Personal care means assistance with the activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, or personal hygiene, and assistance in physical transfer, ambulation, and in administering medication. Similarly, since homemakers and companions do not provide any hands-on personal care they are not required to have TB tests, HIV screening, Hepatitis B vaccinations, nor CPR training. Florida state law also says licensed personnel must report to the BoN with knowledge of care being provided by unlicensed personnel.

Our healthcare facility has a relationship with a homemaker/companion service. Often family members will hire companions from this service to sit with relatives during the day. I see employees of the companion service providing nursing care. Grooming, dresssing. bathing, transfer, etc. Today I asked a few where they went to CNA school. None that I asked.are CNA's. They said they are sitters or companions paid hourly. It all happens out of sight of anyone in charge. Management and the DoN must know this happens and approve. Or they somehow chart that magic fairies are feeding stroke patients or lifting them onto bedside commodes 'cause no one on staff is charting they have done it. It just seems like some rules are being bent somewhere. Do I say something or report this to someone? Or does this go on all the time at facilities and I should just consider the patients are lucky to have the one-to-one help. So many things happen that we were taught aren't supposed to happen...

The State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). which oversee licensure of 36,000 health care facilities such as Hospitals, Nursing Homes, SNF's, Home Health Agencies, etc.. has a very detailed webpage on the new law, specific background check resuts, and how to apply for an exemption from the AHCA. The deadline is, or in some interpretations "grace period" ends, October 1, 2009. As with many other intra-departmental oversights and overlaps between the BoN and AHCA, this exclusion/exemption process affects those employed at Adult Day Care Centers, Home Health Agencies, Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Residential Treatment Facilities, Community Mental Health Centers, Hospice, Crisis Stabilization Units, Health Care Services Pools, Nurse Registries and similar. The AHCA exclusion/exemption process also includes for example Home Health Aides, Dietary Aides, Companions, Sitters, Mental Health Personell, etc.

While I realize we cannot give legal advice, and the following shouldn't be taken as counsel of any kind, I hope the Admin will let the post stand for comment or as information. During the recent August 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2009 Florida Board of Nursing meetings several candidates for exemption or waiver for Nurse or Nurse Assistant licensure or certification were flatly turned down under the new Florida Statute 456.0635 In brief, the new law disqualifies Health Professionsals (many occupations not just nursing) from license, certificate, or registration when convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, certain felonies unless the sentence and any subsequent period of probation for such conviction or pleas ended more than 15 years prior to the date of the application. This should clear up some of the questions for Floridians since previously there was a general rule of thumb of needing five years in the past and minmally offensive felonies considered on a case by case basis. The board commented they were no longer able to grant any exemptions for crimes defined under the new law. This is from the meeting records. Today, in general, if the felony involved drugs, abuse, violence, or fraud, and the sentence or probabation or parole ended less than 15 years ago, one cannot be licensed as a healtcare professional in Florida. The gateway page to the statutes by number (to see specific crimes affecting licensure under FS c. 409, 817, and 893) is Florida Statutes The BoN began notifying existing licensees with this "IMPORTANT NOTICE" on July 30, 2009.