In a move that one Miami nursing home operator called a return to the ”dark ages,” Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives want to suspend a state law that mandates how much care nursing home patients must receive each day. Seven years ago, Florida lawmakers put in place tough staffing requirements for nursing homes in exchange for limits on lawsuits against the institutions. That action in 2001 followed horror stories about nursing-home patients covered with bedsores or dying from ant bites led to multimillion-dollar jury verdicts against nursing homes. Since then, nursing homes have had to report to the state the number of nurses and nursing assistants providing care to patients. But now, House Republicans say nursing homes should have more ”flexibility” in staffing decisions in order to cope with nearly $300 million worth of proposed budget cuts and a proposed two-year freeze on reimbursement rates paid by the state. A bill unveiled Thursday would prohibit the state from enforcing state laws on nursing-home patient care from June 30, 2008, to July 1, 2010.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/473055.html
For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.
