Lakeland hospice needs respite from error

Gov. Rick Scott has twice run on a platform to create jobs in Florida. But one Lakeland hospice hopes he'll sign a bill that will save 150 jobs.

Compassionate Care Hospice had to close its doors last month after the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration refused to work with the hospice after its license renewal documents were lost in the mail.

“It's ridiculous, sad and disappointing that a company that has been providing excellent care to the community for four years has to shut down because of a fixable, clerical error,” Judy Grey, COO of Compassionate Care, says in a statement.

Compassionate Care got the word it had to shut down March 9 because the state said it never received its paperwork to renew its license. Although Compassionate Care says it has proof it submitted the license renewal documentation, the state says there are no provisions in the law to address a lost renewal notice.

That's where H.B. 441 comes in. Introduced by State Rep. Ray Rodriguez, R-Estero, last January, the bill's original purpose was to remove quarterly reporting requirements by home health agencies, and instead would allow those reports to become part of the biennial license renewal of those agencies.

When the bill went to the Senate in late April, however, State Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, added a section to the law that would give Compassionate Care a second chance to apply by creating an exemption.

The amended bill easily passed both the Senate and the House. It was sent to Scott on Tuesday, and he has until May 27 to make a decision.

Compassionate Care spokeswoman Alia Faraj-Johnson tells Coffee Talk if Scott signs the bill, the hospice would have 30 days to reapply to reinstate the license. If successful, Compassionate Care could be operational again by this summer.

“We are so excited,” Faraj-Johnson says. “But, of course, nothing happens until he signs the document.”