(1) The department shall contract for operation of a program for the treatment of persons who have active tuberculosis in hospitals licensed under chapter 395 and may provide for appropriate placement of persons who have active tuberculosis in other health care facilities or residential facilities. The department shall require the contractor to use existing licensed community hospitals and other facilities for the care and treatment to cure of persons who have active tuberculosis or a history of noncompliance with prescribed drug regimens and require inpatient or other residential services.

(2) The program for control of tuberculosis shall provide funding for participating facilities and require any such facilities to meet the following conditions:

(a) Admit patients voluntarily and under court order as appropriate for each particular facility;

(b) Require that each patient pay the actual cost of care provided whether the patient is admitted voluntarily or by court order;

(c) Provide for the care of patients in the program regardless of ability to pay;

(d) Require a primary clinical diagnosis of active tuberculosis by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 before admitting the patient; provided that there may be more than one primary diagnosis;

(e) Provide a method of notification to the county health department and to the patient’s family, if any, before discharging the patient from the hospital or other facility;

(f) Provide for the necessary exchange of medical information to assure adequate community treatment to cure and followup of discharged patients, as appropriate; and

(g) Provide for a method of medical care and counseling and for housing, social service, and employment referrals, if appropriate, for patients discharged from the hospital.

(3) A hospital may, pursuant to court order, place a patient in temporary isolation for a period of no more than 72 continuous hours. The department shall obtain a court order in the same manner as prescribed in s. 392.57. Nothing in this subsection precludes a hospital from isolating an infectious patient for medical reasons.

(4) Any person committed under s. 392.57 who leaves the tuberculosis hospital or residential facility without having been discharged by the designated medical authority, except as provided in s. 392.63, shall be apprehended by the sheriff of the county in which the person is found and immediately delivered to the facility from which he or she left.

History.—s. 1, ch. 88-389; s. 1, ch. 88-398; s. 13, ch. 94-320; s. 1043, ch. 95-148; s. 97, ch. 97-101; s. 36, ch. 97-237; s. 83, ch. 2012-184.