Florida News: State Tightens Standards for Pediatric Home Health Aides

Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) has released an updated draft rule that sets clearer standards for home health aides who care for medically fragile children. Rule 59A-8.0099 reflects feedback gathered during workshops earlier this year and builds on recent state legislation. Here's a plain-language breakdown of what's changing and what it means for agencies.

Training and competency are the agency's responsibility.
Under the proposed rule, the agency — not the aide, not a third party — is responsible for both training home health aides and evaluating whether they're competent to care for each specific patient. That evaluation must be tied to the child's individualized plan of care, and training must be sufficient for the aide to safely perform every delegated task.
 
The RN role in training is more clearly defined.
The updated draft clarifies how registered nurses fit into the required 76 hours of training, though the full details are in the rule text itself. If your agency uses RNs to oversee or deliver portions of that training, review the updated language carefully to ensure your program aligns.
 
New tasks added to the training curriculum.
The rule expands the list of tasks aides must be trained to perform. Two additions stand out: assistance with total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and training on recognizing and reporting physical or behavioral changes in the patient — not just observing appearance but knowing what to communicate and when.
 
Adverse incident reporting gets a formal definition.
The rule now defines what counts as an adverse incident for purposes of reporting, pulling directly from Florida Statute 400.54(2). An adverse incident is an event that agency personnel could have controlled, is connected to a medical intervention (rather than the patient's underlying condition), and results in harm. A draft incident report form is also available for review.
 
Read the full proposed rule and the most recent changes. Review the draft adverse incident report form (AHCA Form 3110-0011). If you have questions or concerns about the proposed rule, contact HCAOA Director of Government Relations Allison Cramer. The association is actively engaged in this process and will include member perspectives in any formal comments submitted.