Care-facility inspections
How nursing homes and care facilities in Florida are inspected, licensed, and held to account.
10 laws · 13 enforcement actions · 9 guides · 11 court decisions
See the details
The laws 10
- Florida Statutes Chapter 400, 'Nursing Homes and Related Health Care Facilities' - contents index. Part I is the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (ss. 400.0060-400.0091); Part II is Nursing Homes (ss. 400.011-400.334); leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 400.021, 'Definitions' (Part II, Nursing Homes) - defines 'nursing home facility' and related terms used throughout the nursing-home licensing part. leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 400.23, 'Rules; evaluation and deficiencies; licensure status' - directs AHCA to adopt rules (with Part II of ch. leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 400.19, 'Right of entry and inspection' - gives AHCA and the State/local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program the right to enter and inspect licensed nursing homes and unlicensed facilities suspected of operating without a li… leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 400.0060, 'Definitions' for Part I (the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program) - defines 'administrative assessment,' 'agency,' 'department,' and other terms used by the state Ombudsman Program in its facility-oversight role. leg.state.fl.us
- Florida Statutes Chapter 429, contents index - Part I is Assisted Living Facilities (the ALF licensing act, s. 429.01 et seq.); Part II Adult Family-Care Homes; Part III Adult Day Care Centers. leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 429.02, 'Definitions' (ALF Part I) - defines 'activities of daily living,' 'administrator,' 'agency' (AHCA), and other core Assisted Living Facility Act terms. leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 429.14, 'Administrative penalties' - authorizes AHCA to deny, revoke, or suspend an ALF license and impose administrative fines (Ch. 120 procedure) for violations of Part I, Ch. 408 Part II, or applicable rules. leg.state.fl.us
- Florida Statutes Chapter 408, Part II, 'Health Care Licensing: General Provisions' - the cross-cutting licensure-procedure act (short title, applicability, definitions, license application/fee process, denial/revocation grounds) that Chapte… leg.state.fl.us
- Fla. Stat. Section 408.813, 'Administrative fines; violations' - the general Ch. 408 Part II penalty statute AHCA applies across facility types (nursing homes, ALFs, home health, hospice, etc.) when authorizing statutes/rules don't set a sp… leg.state.fl.us
Know your rights 9
- AHCA's 'HQA Applications for Licensure' hub - the index page linking every facility type's licensure-application packet and checklist (nursing homes, ALFs, adult family-care homes, adult day care centers, home health agencies, hospices, ICF… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's 'Nursing Homes' program page (Long Term Care Services Unit) - cites the governing law ('Nursing Home Statutes -- F.S. Chapter 400, Part II'; 'Nursing Home Rules -- F.A.C. ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's 'Assisted Living Facility' program page (Assisted Living Unit) - background-screening and adverse-incident-reporting guidance, radon-testing requirements for 24-hour state-regulated providers, and cross-references to the parallel Dep… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's 'Current Regulations in ASPEN - Survey' page - lists, by facility/provider type and effective date, the survey tags and regulation sets (e.g., Rural Health Clinics, Organ Procurement, Outpatient Physical Therapy, Psychiatric Resident… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's 'Survey Related Forms' page - the surveyor/provider-facing forms library, including Assisted Living Facility Program Entrance Conference and Initial Checklists and Home Health Agency skilled/non-skilled initial and re-licensure surve… ahca.myflorida.com
- FloridaHealthFinder consumer guide, 'Choosing Nursing Home Care' (2025) - a Report Guide from AHCA's consumer-information library helping Floridians compare and choose a licensed nursing home. fhfstore.blob.core.windows.net
- FloridaHealthFinder consumer guide, 'Assisted Living in Florida' (2025) - a Report Guide covering ALF options, costs, and consumer rights. fhfstore.blob.core.windows.net
- FloridaHealthFinder consumer guide, 'Long Term Care' (2026) - overview guide to long-term-care options (nursing home, ALF, home care, hospice) and how to use the state's inspection/rating tools when choosing a provider. fhfstore.blob.core.windows.net
- FloridaHealthFinder consumer guide, 'Care at Home' (2025) - guide to home health and home-care options for Florida consumers, linked from the same Report Guides library as the nursing-home and ALF guides. fhfstore.blob.core.windows.net
Enforcement actions 8
- AHCA's 'Find a Facility' document search tool (Licensure & Certification document management system): lets the public search a named facility and pull its 'Legal Orders' (Final Orders that decide a licensing/enforcement case, including sanc… apps.ahca.myflorida.com
- FloridaHealthFinder's Nursing Home facility/provider search - per-facility profiles (the state's public 'Nursing Home Guide') covering licensure status, ratings, and survey/complaint history for each of Florida's licensed nursing homes; quality.healthfinder.fl.gov
- FloridaHealthFinder's Assisted Living Facility search - per-facility profiles for Florida-licensed ALFs (licensure status, capacity, survey/complaint history). quality.healthfinder.fl.gov
- FloridaHealthFinder's Home Health Agency search - per-agency profiles for Florida-licensed home health agencies (licensure status, survey/complaint history). quality.healthfinder.fl.gov
- FloridaHealthFinder's Hospice program search - per-program profiles for Florida-licensed hospices (licensure status, survey/complaint history). quality.healthfinder.fl.gov
- FloridaHealthFinder's statewide 'Locate Facility' search - locates any AHCA-regulated facility by name/county/type and links out to the Agency's 'Inspection Reports/Final Orders' document tool for that facility's enforcement record. quality.healthfinder.fl.gov
- AHCA's Complaint Administration Unit page - the state's intake channel for complaints against licensed AND unlicensed health care facilities, which the Bureau of Field Operations investigates and that can lead to a survey, a Statement of De… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's Nursing Home Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Reinvestment Projects page - documents how CMP funds collected from cited nursing homes (per federal-state survey enforcement) are reinvested into facility/resident-quality projects, naming the… ahca.myflorida.com
Orders & settlements 5
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 59A-4, 'Minimum Standards for Nursing Homes' - AHCA's nursing-home licensure and operating-standards rule (incl. the Gold Seal Program at 59A-4.200) adopted under Ch. 400 Part II. flrules.org
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 59A-36, 'Assisted Living Facility' - AHCA's ALF licensure standards rule adopted under Ch. 429 Part I (staffing, resident admission/discharge criteria, physical-plant and life-safety standards). flrules.org
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 59A-8, 'Minimum Standards for Home Health Agencies' - AHCA's home health agency licensure and operating-standards rule adopted under Ch. 400 Part III. flrules.org
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 58A-2, 'Hospice' - the hospice licensure/operating rule adopted jointly for Ch. 400 Part IV (hospice programs, patient-rights and staffing standards). flrules.org
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 58A-5, 'Assisted Living Facilities' (Dept. of Elder Affairs rule, companion to AHCA's 59A-36) - governs ALF core-training/administrator-certification standards and staff training curricula. flrules.org
Court decisions 11
- Riverwood Nursing Center, LLC v. Agency for Health Care Administration, 58 So. 3d 907 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) - First District Court of Appeal review of an AHCA nursing-home licensing/enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- TR & SNF, Inc. d/b/a The Nursing Center, etc. v. Agency for Health Care Administration, 238 So. 3d 934 (Fla. DCA 2018) - state appellate review of an AHCA skilled-nursing-facility licensing action. courtlistener.com
- Trust Care Health Services v. Agency for Health Care Administration, 50 So. 3d 13 (Fla. DCA 2010) - state appellate review of an AHCA home-health-agency licensing/enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Inc. d/b/a LeadingAge Florida v. Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Elder Affairs, 252 So. 3d 313 (Fla. courtlistener.com
- Gulf Coast Health Care, Inc. v. Agency for Health Care Administration, 679 So. 2d 338 (Fla. DCA 1996) - early state appellate review of an AHCA nursing-home enforcement action. courtlistener.com
- Agency for Health Care Admin. v. HHCI Ltd., 865 So. 2d 593 (Fla. DCA 2004) - AHCA as appellant in a facility-licensing enforcement dispute. courtlistener.com
- Avalons Assisted Living, LLC v. Agency for Health Care Administration, 80 So. 3d 347 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) - state appellate review of an AHCA assisted-living-facility licensing/enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- MILA ALF, LLC d/b/a Dixie Lodge Assisted Living Facility v. State of Florida, Agency for Health Care Administration, 273 So. 3d 272 (Fla. DCA 2019) - state appellate review of an AHCA ALF licensing/enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- W. Frank Wells Nursing Home v. State, Agency for Health Care Administration, 75 So. 3d 328 (Fla. DCA 2011) - state appellate review of an AHCA nursing-home enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- Residential Plaza at Blue Lagoon, Inc. v. Agency for Health Care Admin., 891 So. 2d 604 (Fla. DCA 2005) - state appellate review of an AHCA facility-licensing enforcement decision. courtlistener.com
- Benjamin v. Tandem Healthcare, Inc., 998 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 2008) - Florida Supreme Court decision on nursing-home resident-care claims and pre-dispute arbitration agreements against a Florida nursing home operator. courtlistener.com
Official notices 5
- AHCA's 'Health Care Alerts' page - the Agency's own bulletin channel for provider and consumer alerts (the nav also offers 'Register for Health Care Alerts' from the AHCA homepage). ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA press release (March 26, 2026), 'Agency for Health Care Administration Issues Temporary Moratorium on Enrollment of New Medicaid Providers for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies' - a statewide six-month enr… ahca.myflorida.com
- Press release (June 12, 2026), 'Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Medicaid Integrity Initiative to Crack Down on Fraud' - enhanced provider screening, enrollment controls for high-risk provider categories (which include facility-type Medicaid… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA press release (February 5, 2026), 'AHCA Announces New Health Care Transparency Tools' - launches the Florida Nursing Home Utilization and Staffing (FNHURS) Dashboard, giving the public access to nursing-facility occupancy, revenue, and… ahca.myflorida.com
- AHCA's Visitation notice page explaining Florida's 'No Patient Left Alone' law (SB 988, signed April 6, 2022) guaranteeing a right to visit loved ones in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and intermediate care… ahca.myflorida.com