Florida's Advocate for Long Term Care Providers and the Elders They Serve
Posted on: Mar 05, 2026
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Legislative
There is now only one week left in the 2026 Regular Session, and there is still no agreement on the budget or an indication as to when budget conference negotiations will begin. The Senate and House are currently about $1.5 billion apart in their proposed spending plans, raising the possibility that the Legislature could extend session or return later for…
Posted on: Mar 03, 2026
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Life Safety
Some skilled nursing facility providers may have been asked by a resident to provide a lock on his or her room door to secure it. A locked resident room door, however, would only be allowed in a very limited circumstance.
Posted on: Feb 26, 2026
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Legislative
FHCA wrapped up its final Lobby Wednesday this week, with attendees taking time to thank Florida House members for preserving Certificate of Need (CON) for nursing centers. At the same time, they urged lawmakers to increase the recurring Medicaid funding included in both chambers’ proposed budgets. This timed well given that next week could be the start of the budget…
Posted on: Feb 26, 2026
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Life Safety
Resident comfort and the need for a homelike environment influence many aspects of a skilled nursing facility. Comfort and homelike environment are typically associated with the physical environment, but these considerations also influence how facilities conduct a very important aspect of fire safety training.
Posted on: Feb 19, 2026
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Life Safety
When evaluating sprinkler heads in the skilled nursing facility, it’s important to ensure there are no sprinkler heads with “mixed responses” installed in the same compartment. When performing evaluations, compartments should have either quick response sprinkler heads or standard response sprinkler heads that are installed, but not a combination of both installed in the same compartment.
Posted on: Feb 19, 2026
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Legislative
It was another packed house for Lobby Wednesday, with representatives from Aviata Health Group, Pines of Sarasota, The Lilac Health Group and several business partners joining us. FHCA and our members continued to urge lawmakers to build upon the proposed Medicaid funding increases for nursing centers, while bills related to assisted living facilities, background screening and enrollment procedures for Medicaid…
Posted on: Feb 12, 2026
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Legislative
It’s the halfway mark for the 2026 legislative session, and both chambers have now released their initial budget proposals for FY 2026-2027 which appear to include recurring funding increase in both the House and Senate, along with the continued quality-add on policy for which FHCA has been advocating. There was also progress on several bills impacting long term care, including…
Posted on: Feb 10, 2026
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Reimbursement
In August of 2025, the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) issued a Notice of Development of Rulemaking and proposed rule 59E-4.102 to incorporate recent changes from 2025-204, L.O.F (SB 2514) related to violations of financial reporting. The purpose of the proposed rule was to include language to solidify fines and penalties for filing FNHURS reports after the extended deadline.
Posted on: Feb 10, 2026
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Life Safety
The Handbook Editions of NFPA 101 and 99 are valuable resources for providers, as they include additional explanatory material and annotations compared to the normal books. One piece of explanatory material in NFPA 99 will likely have an impact on how centers perform their NFPA 99 risk assessment as required by K Tag 901.
Posted on: Feb 05, 2026
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Legislative
Palm Garden Healthcare and Facility Support Group brought more than 50 long term care professionals to Lobby Wednesday. Both ALF memory care bills and the background screening bill were taken up by their committees.
Posted on: Feb 04, 2026
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Legislative
During election seasons, the Center for Vulnerable Voters (CVV) receives numerous calls from Florida long term care providers requesting assistance. In many cases, critical deadlines have already been missed, creating challenges in delivering optimal services and safeguards for residents. Now is the time for centers to establish partnerships with their local election authorities.
Posted on: Feb 03, 2026
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Legislative
Congress has now funded the federal government through September 30, 2026. The spending package includes five funding bills, which cover the departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Labor and Education. Specific to long term care, the funding extends several telehealth policies through December 31, 2027.