Special Needs RFP is in the Works -- The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) is making available approximately $13 million from the SAIL program as loans to qualified applicants to construct and/or rehabilitate housing for special needs populations, such as the homeless, persons with disabilities, youth aging out of foster care, survivors of domestic violence, and the frail elderly.  The RFP will be available from April 11, 2008 to May 27, 2008, and can be downloaded from the FHFC Web site at www.floridahousing.org.  Preliminary scores will be published on June 18, 2008 and the final rankings will be available on August 18, 2008.

Other Housing Alert Issues:

• HUD Gets Bad Wrap - Is More Security the Answer?
• To Make EHCL Program Work, More Work Needed With HUD Staff
• Spanish Model Leases Available
• Question of the Week:  Satellite TV

FAHSA Housing Alert Page

2008 Pre-Session Update

Automated External Defibrillators (AED) - SB 564 by Sen. Lee Constantine (HB 243 by Rep. Thom Anderson) passed the Senate Judiciary Committee this week with no amendments. The bill is intended to reduce the civil liability of having on AED available at a business.  As amended in the last committee of reference, the committee substitute encourages, rather than require users of an AED to obtain appropriate training. It also does not require the person or entity who acquires the AED to maintain and test the device.  It also deletes the requirement that the person who acquires the AED must notify local emergency medical service director of the most recent placement of the device.

Senate Judiciary Approves Nursing Facilities Bill - SB 686 by Sen. Michael Bennett (HB 247 by Rep. Dave Murzin) passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with two amendments.  The bill contains several provisions related to licensure, regulations, and maintenance of state nursing home facilities.  The bill was amended to restore current provisions for posting staffing compliance.

Senate Health Regulations approves Pharmacy Technician Bill- SB 1360   by Sen. Durell Peaden (HB 0275 Relating to Pharmacy by Rep. Rene Garcia) passed favorably by the Senate Committee on Health Regulations. It passed with a strike everything amendment to providing procedures for registering pharmacy technicians in the state. Also, it clearly states that a person who was licensed to practice pharmacy, but was denied, suspended or restricted because of disciplinary is not eligible to register as a pharmacy technician.

Home Health Regulation/Cap on Newly Licensed Agencies  - The Senate Health Regulation Committee, approved SB 1374 by Sen. Dennis Jones (Formerly PCB 7012) with numerous amendments to  propose stricter regulations of  home health care. As amended the bill:

• Limits the number of approved newly-licensed home heath agencies per quarter to five for each geographic area in service areas 1 through 9, four for area 10, and three for area 11. The cap would slow the growth in home health agencies that has occurred since the certificate of need requirement was repealed in 2000.  (Associated Home Health Industries of Florida would prefer a total moratorium and intends to pursue it in the House.)
• New applicants must include a business plan, signed by the applicant, with details of the methods they intend to use to obtain patients and recruit staff.
• Direct AHCA to return fees if the application is not approved because the geographic area was capped.
• Initial applicants will be denied if they share common controlling interests with another licensed home health agency within 20 miles of the new applicant. If the applicant alleges the determination is incorrect, the burden of proof is on the applicant to demonstrate that by a preponderance of evidence, it is not supported by the record.
• AHCA will fine the home health organization if it does not provide at least one service directly to a patient for a period of sixty days.
• A home health agency is not required to have a director of nursing if it only provides physical, occupational, or speech therapy.
• AHCA shall conduct unannounced surveys for newly licensed home health agencies within 15 months after issuing a license.
• Directs AHCA to use a lottery system to select from the applications that are submitted for HHAs each quarter and provides an exemption from the limits for HHAs opened by retirement communities for the sole purpose of serving their own residents. (This provision was incorporated in the bill for FAHSA.)
• The bill would take effect on 7/1/08.

FAHSA Nursing Home Alert Page

Six Things Every Job Seeker Should Know -- Whether you are actively job hunting or you anticipate ever being in the job search process again in the future, you should read on to be sure you aren't overlooking any key points for your own professional references. Click here to read the entire article.

FAHSA's Preferred Business Associates Program (PBAs) -- A list of PBAs can be found by on the FAHSA Web site www.fahsa.org and selecting Preferred Business Associates from the left side menu bar or clicking on the FAHSA Preferred Business Associates Page hyperlink. FAHSA members can also use the on-line directory to search for PBAs by specialty.

FAHSA members may use the Job Mart services at no charge. A nominal fee of $25 will be charged to nonmembers.

Your Job Mart advertisement will be displayed on our Web site for approximately three months. The FAHSA Link is published weekly and distributed to our membership which is comprised of nursing homes, CCRCs, HUD housing, assisted living facilities, independent living facilities and companies/firms.

To reserve advertisement space in our Job Mart program, please complete the application and fax it to FAHSA at (850) 671-3790 or E-mail Erin Steele at esteele@fahsa.org