Fla. Stat. § 400.9973 — Florida Code / Title XXIX / Chapter 400 / Part XI / Section 400.9973
400.9973 Client admission, transfer, and discharge.
Status: in_force

(1) A transitional living facility shall have written policies and procedures governing the admission, transfer, and discharge of clients.

(2) The admission of a client to a transitional living facility must be in accordance with the licensee’s policies and procedures.

(3) To be admitted to a transitional living facility, an individual must have an acquired internal or external injury to the skull, the brain, or the brain’s covering, caused by a traumatic or nontraumatic event, which produces an altered state of consciousness, or a spinal cord injury, such as a lesion to the spinal cord or cauda equina syndrome, with evidence of significant involvement of at least two of the following deficits or dysfunctions: (a) A motor deficit. (b) A sensory deficit. (c) A cognitive deficit. (d) A behavioral deficit. (e) Bowel and bladder dysfunction.

(4) A client whose medical condition and diagnosis do not positively identify a cause of the client’s condition, whose symptoms are inconsistent with the known cause of injury, or whose recovery is inconsistent with the known medical condition may be admitted to a transitional living facility for evaluation for a period not to exceed 90 days.

(5) A client admitted to a transitional living facility must be admitted upon prescription by a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse and must remain under the care of a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse for the duration of the client’s stay in the facility.

(6) A transitional living facility may not admit a person whose primary admitting diagnosis is mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability.

(7) A person may not be admitted to a transitional living facility if the person: (a) Presents significant risk of infection to other clients or personnel. A health care practitioner must provide documentation that the person is free of apparent signs and symptoms of communicable disease; (b) Is a danger to himself or herself or others as determined by a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or a mental health practitioner licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491, unless the facility provides adequate staffing and support to ensure patient safety; (c) Is bedridden; or (d) Requires 24-hour nursing supervision.

(8) If the client meets the admission criteria, the medical or nursing director of the facility must complete an initial evaluation of the client’s functional skills, behavioral status, cognitive status, educational or vocational potential, medical status, psychosocial status, sensorimotor capacity, and other related skills and abilities within the first 72 hours after the client’s admission to the facility. An initial comprehensive treatment plan that delineates services to be provided and appropriate sources for such services must be implemented within the first 4 days after admission.

(9) A transitional living facility shall develop a discharge plan for each client before or upon admission to the facility. The discharge plan must identify the intended discharge site and possible alternative discharge sites. For each discharge site identified, the discharge plan must identify the skills, behaviors, and other conditions that the client must achieve to be eligible for discharge. A discharge plan must be reviewed and updated as necessary but at least once monthly.

(10) A transitional living facility shall discharge a client as soon as practicable when the client no longer requires the specialized services described in s. 400.9971(7), when the client is not making measurable progress in accordance with the client’s comprehensive treatment plan, or when the transitional living facility is no longer the most appropriate and least restrictive treatment option.

(11) A transitional living facility shall provide at least 30 days’ notice to a client of transfer or discharge plans, including the location of an acceptable transfer location if the client is unable to live independently. This subsection does not apply if a client voluntarily terminates residency.

History: s. 1, ch. 2015-25; s. 33, ch. 2018-106.