SB 776 — Sexual Misconduct Reporting in Health Care

Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 776 By Senatorthe BaxleyCommittee 12-01157-19on 2019776__Criminal AJustice; bill to be entitled An act relating to sexual misconduct reporting in health care;

and Senators Baxley and Bracy 591-02888-19 2019776c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to sexual misconduct reporting in health care;

requiring specified health care facilities, as a condition of obtaining or maintaining licensure, to enact policies requiring employees, contractors, volunteers, and interns of such licensees to report actual or suspected sexual misconduct involving a patient to the licensee, the Departmentstatewide toll-free complaint telephone number of Childrenthe andAgency Families,for Health Care Administration, and the appropriate local law enforcement agency;

1819 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

2021 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 408.810, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

The statewide toll-free telephone number for reporting complaints to the agency the central abuse hotline must be provided to clients in a manner that is clearly legible and must include the words:

“To report abuse, neglect, or exploitation, please call toll-freetoll free (phone number).” 3. Medicaid fraud.

“To report suspected Medicaid fraud, please call toll-free (phone number).” 4850 The agency shall publish a minimum of a 90-day advance notice of a change in the toll-free telephone numbers.

(c) Each licensee shall enact a policy that requires allany employees,employee, contractors,contractor, volunteers,volunteer, andor internsintern of the licensee who witnesswitnesses sexual misconduct, as defined in s.

394.4593(1), involving a patient in the care of the licensee, or who otherwise knowknows or havehas reasonable cause to suspect that a person has engaged in sexual misconduct involving a patient in the care of the licensee, to immediately report the sexual misconduct to the licensee, the Departmentstatewide oftoll-free Childrencomplaint andtelephone Families’number centralof abusethe hotline,department, and the appropriate local law enforcement agency.

The policy shall require the employee, contractor, volunteer, or intern alsoto must prepare, date,to sign,the andbest provideof tohis theor licenseeher ability, an independent report that specifically describes the nature of the sexual misconduct, the location and time of the incident, and the persons involved in the incident.

1. FailureThe ofemployee, thecontractor, licenseevolunteer, to enact or enforceintern thewho policyprepares requiredsuch underreport thisshall paragraphdate isand asign Classthe IIreport violationand asprovide establishedit into s.the licensee.

1. Failure of the licensee to enact or enforce the policy required under this paragraph is a class II violation as established in s.

4. Any person who knowingly or willfully coerces or threatens any other person with the intent to alter a testimony or a written report regarding an incident of sexual misconduct commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.

Section 2. This act shall take effect JulyOctober 1, 2019.