Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1602 By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Harrell 588-03191-25 20251602c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to health care patient protection; 3 amending s. 395.1012, F.S.; requiring hospital 4 emergency departments to develop and implement 5 policies and procedures, conduct training, record 6 weights in a certain manner, designate a pediatric 7 emergency care coordinator, and conduct specified 8 assessments; authorizing a hospital with an emergency 9 department to conduct the National Pediatric Readiness 10 Projects Open Assessment under certain circumstances; 11 amending s. 395.1055, F.S.; requiring the Agency for 12 Health Care Administration to adopt certain rules for 13 comprehensive emergency management plans; requiring 14 the agency, in consultation with the Florida Emergency 15 Medical Services for Children State Partnership 16 Program, to establish minimum standards for pediatric 17 patient care in hospital emergency departments; 18 amending s. 408.05, F.S.; requiring the agency to 19 collect and publish the results of specified 20 assessments submitted by hospitals by specified dates; 21 providing requirements for the collection and 22 publication of the hospitals assessment scores; 23 providing an effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1.Subsections (5) and (6) are added to section 28 395.1012, Florida Statutes, to read: 29 395.1012Patient safety. 30 (5)(a)Each hospital with an emergency department must: 31 1.Develop and implement policies and procedures for 32 pediatric patient care in the emergency department which reflect 33 evidence-based best practices relating to, at a minimum: 34 a.Triage. 35 b.Measuring and recording vital signs. 36 c.Weighing and recording weights in kilograms. 37 d.Calculating medication dosages. 38 e.Use of pediatric instruments. 39 2.Conduct training at least annually on the policies and 40 procedures developed under this subsection. The training must 41 include, at a minimum: 42 a.The use of pediatric instruments, as applicable to each 43 licensure type, using clinical simulation as defined in s. 44 464.003. 45 b.Drills that simulate emergency situations. Each 46 emergency department must conduct drills at least annually. 47 (b)Each hospital emergency department must: 48 1.Designate a pediatric emergency care coordinator. The 49 pediatric emergency care coordinator must be a physician or a 50 physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a 51 nurse licensed under chapter 464, or a paramedic licensed under 52 chapter 401. The pediatric emergency care coordinator is 53 responsible for implementation of and ensuring fidelity to the 54 policies and procedures adopted under this subsection. 55 2.Conduct the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment 56 developed by the National Pediatric Readiness Project, in 57 accordance with timelines established by the National Pediatric 58 Readiness Project. 59 (6)Each hospital with an emergency department may conduct 60 the National Pediatric Readiness Projects Open Assessment 61 during a year in which the National Pediatric Readiness 62 Assessment is not conducted. 63 Section 2.Present subsections (4) through (19) of section 64 395.1055, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5) 65 through (20), respectively, a new subsection (4) is added to 66 that section, and paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of that 67 section is amended, to read: 68 395.1055Rules and enforcement. 69 (1)The agency shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) 70 and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this part, which shall 71 include reasonable and fair minimum standards for ensuring that: 72 (c)A comprehensive emergency management plan is prepared 73 and updated annually. Such standards must be included in the 74 rules adopted by the agency after consulting with the Division 75 of Emergency Management. At a minimum, the rules must provide 76 for plan components that address emergency evacuation 77 transportation; adequate sheltering arrangements; postdisaster 78 activities, including emergency power, food, and water; 79 postdisaster transportation; supplies; staffing; emergency 80 equipment; individual identification of residents and transfer 81 of records,andresponding to family inquiries, and the needs of 82 pediatric and neonatal patients. The comprehensive emergency 83 management plan is subject to review and approval by the local 84 emergency management agency. During its review, the local 85 emergency management agency shall ensure that the following 86 agencies, at a minimum, are given the opportunity to review the 87 plan: the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Department of 88 Health, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the 89 Division of Emergency Management. Also, appropriate volunteer 90 organizations must be given the opportunity to review the plan. 91 The local emergency management agency shall complete its review 92 within 60 days and either approve the plan or advise the 93 facility of necessary revisions. 94 (4)The agency, in consultation with the Florida Emergency 95 Medical Services for Children State Partnership Program, shall 96 adopt rules that establish minimum standards for pediatric 97 patient care in hospital emergency departments, including, but 98 not limited to, availability and immediate access to pediatric 99 specific equipment and supplies. 100 Section 3.Paragraph (n) is added to subsection (3) of 101 section 408.05, Florida Statutes, to read: 102 408.05Florida Center for Health Information and 103 Transparency. 104 (3)HEALTH INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY.In order to 105 disseminate and facilitate the availability of comparable and 106 uniform health information, the agency shall perform the 107 following functions: 108 (n)1.Collect the overall assessment score of National 109 Pediatric Readiness Assessments conducted by hospital emergency 110 departments pursuant to s. 395.1012(5), from the Florida 111 Emergency Medical Services for Children State Partnership 112 Program by December 31, 2026, and by each December 31 during a 113 year in which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is 114 conducted thereafter. 115 2.By April 1, 2027, and each April 1 following a year in 116 which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is conducted 117 thereafter, publish the overall assessment score for each 118 hospital emergency department, and provide a comparison to the 119 national average score when it becomes available. 120 3.Collect and publish no more than one overall assessment 121 score per hospital, per year, of assessments conducted pursuant 122 to s. 395.1012(6), and provide a comparison to the hospital 123 emergency departments most recently published score pursuant to 124 subparagraph 2. 125 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.