Bill Text: CA AB1577 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Health facilities and clinics: clinical placements: nursing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 680, Statutes of 2024. [AB1577 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1577-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Senate  July 05, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  June 26, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 27, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 17, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1577

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 17, 2023

---

An act to amend Section 128735 of, and to add Article 1 (commencing with Section 127750) to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 107 of of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1577, as amended, Low. General acute care hospitals: clinical placements: nursing.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) in the California Health and Human Services Agency to oversee health planning and health policy research, such as the health care workforce research and data center. Existing law requires an organization that operates, conducts, owns, or maintains a health facility, and the officers thereof, to make and file specified reports to HCAI, including, among others, a balance sheet detailing the assets, liabilities, and net worth of the health facility at the end of its fiscal year and a Hospital Discharge Abstract Data Record. Existing law establishes the Board of Registered Nursing within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing.

This bill would require a general acute care hospital meeting certain criteria to complete and submit a designated form and a report on nursing clinical placements twice per year, or more frequently as specified, to HCAI and the board, containing certain information. The bill would require an approved school of nursing, or an approved nursing program, within a community college to annually notify HCAI and the board of the number of clinical placement slots required for the next academic year and the number of slots that it has been unable to fill. meet with representatives from a community college with an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program, upon request, to discuss the clinical placement needs of the school or program, as specified. The bill would require an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program within a community college to annually report specified information to HCAI and the board pertaining to clinical placement slots, including, among other things, the number of clinical slots the school or program has been unable to fill.

The bill would require HCAI to post on its internet website the above-described information reported by the hospitals and nursing schools or programs.

If there are no hospitals to meet the needs of the community colleges, the bill would authorize HCAI the board to meet with general acute care hospitals in an attempt to match available clinical placement slots with needed slots or in an attempt to create additional slots and would establish a process of departmental review and a potential fine if the hospital cannot implement any additional slots.

The bill would require the department to investigate a complaint of a violation of these provisions and would require a general acute care hospital to submit an acceptable plan of correction or be subject to a fine, as specified. By implementing fines for violations, this bill would create a new crime and a state-mandated local program.

The bill would additionally require an organization that operates, conducts, owns, or maintains a health facility to submit to HCAI a report on clinical placement data that includes, among other things, the estimated number of days and shifts available for student use and the number of days and shifts being utilized for student use. The bill would require HCAI to post on its internet website the information from this report with the information from the above-described annual reports submitted by the approved nursing schools or programs, as specified.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

---

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) With a robust infrastructure throughout the state, California’s community colleges are in the best position to help California through its nursing shortage.

(b) With a wide service area, community colleges offer local accessibility to students in critically underserved areas, specifically rural and poor inner city communities.

(c) National Council Licensure Examination passage rates are strong, and community colleges offer top quality and affordable education.

(d) Additionally, community colleges are the only recourse against massive student debt, a crisis, waiting to explode, in the United States.

SEC. 2.

 Article 1 (commencing with Section 127750) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

Article  1. Nursing Clinical Placements

127750.

(a)A general acute care hospital that is located within 30 miles of a community college, or in which nursing students from an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program are placed, shall complete and submit a Program Clinical Facility Authorization Form, or its successor, and a report on nursing clinical placements to the department and the Board of Registered Nursing in accordance with subdivision (b).

(b)(1)For purposes of the form and the report described in subdivision (a), the hospital shall meet all of the following conditions:

(A)The hospital shall submit the form and the report at least twice per year, or more frequently as determined by the department.

(B)The hospital shall include information on the approved school of nursing or approved nursing program that sponsored each student who filled a clinical placement.

(C)If a prelicensure clinical placement slot is available or filled for a period of time that starts in one reporting period but ends in another reporting period, the hospital shall report that slot in the reporting period in which the student started the clinical placement and shall not report that slot in the reporting period in which the student ended the clinical placement.

(2)The department shall post the information reported by hospitals, as described in paragraph (1), on its internet website in a format that can be sorted by hospital, school or program name, and each area of study.

(c)(1)By March 1 of each year, an approved school of nursing, or an approved nursing program, within a community college shall notify the department and the Board of Registered Nursing of the number of clinical placement slots that the community college will require for the next academic year and the number of slots that it has been unable to fill. The school or program shall report to the department and the Board of Registered Nursing the date of the beginning and the date of the end of the academic term for each slot needed, and the area needed.

(2)The department shall post the information described in paragraph (1) on its internet website.

(d)At least twice per year, or more frequently as determined by the department, a

127750.

 (a) A general acute care hospital that offers prelicensure clinical placement slots shall, upon the request of a community college with an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program, meet with representatives from the school or program to discuss the clinical placement needs of their the school or program. The hospital and the school or program shall work together in good faith to meet the demands of the school or program to educate and train nursing students.

(b) By March 1 of each year, an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program within a community college shall report to the department and the Board of Registered Nursing the following information:

(1) The beginning and end dates of the academic term for each clinical slot needed by a clinical group with content area and education level.

(2) The number of clinical slots that the school or program has been unable to fill.

(e)

(c) (1) If there are no hospitals to meet the needs of the community colleges, the department Board of Registered Nursing may meet with one or more general acute care hospitals in an attempt to match available clinical placement slots with needed slots, or in an attempt to create additional slots, to meet the demands of the community college.

(2) If a hospital cannot provide additional slots, the hospital shall provide the department with written justification of its lack of capability or capacity within 30 days. The department shall shall, in collaboration with the Board of Registered Nursing, notify the hospital within 30 days of its acceptance or rejection of the hospital’s justification. If the department rejects the hospital’s justification and the hospital does not take corrective action within 30 days, the hospital shall be subject to a fine.

(3) All justifications and outcomes shall be posted on the department’s internet website.

(f)

(d) A general acute care hospital that is located within 30 miles of a community college, or in which nursing students from an approved school of nursing or an approved nursing program are placed, shall not supplant any of the current nursing students. A general acute care hospital, as described in this subdivision, that supplants current nursing students shall be subject to a fine.

(g)

(e) For purposes of this section, “approved school of nursing” and “approved nursing program,” or variations thereof, have the same meaning as set forth in Section 2786 of the Business and Professions Code.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, prevent, or justify the approval or denial of new schools of nursing or the expansion of approved nursing programs.

127751.

 (a) The department shall investigate a complaint alleging a violation of this article.

(b) If the department determines that a hospital violated this article, the department may issue a notice of deficiency and require the hospital to submit a written plan of correction. The hospital shall submit its plan of correction within 30 calendar days of receipt of the notice of deficiency.

(c) The department shall notify the hospital within 30 calendar days whether the plan of correction is acceptable. A hospital that fails to submit or implement an acceptable plan of correction may be subject to a fine.

SEC. 3.

 Section 128735 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

128735.

 An organization that operates, conducts, owns, or maintains a health facility, and the officers thereof, shall make and file with the department, at the times as the department shall require, all of the following reports on forms specified by the department that are in accord, if applicable, with the systems of accounting and uniform reporting required by this part, except that the reports required pursuant to subdivision (g) shall be limited to hospitals:

(a) A balance sheet detailing the assets, liabilities, and net worth of the health facility at the end of its fiscal year.

(b) A statement of income, expenses, and operating surplus or deficit for the annual fiscal period, and a statement of ancillary utilization and patient census.

(c) A statement detailing patient revenue by payer, including, but not limited to, Medicare, Medi-Cal, and other payers, and revenue center.

(d) A statement of cashflows, including, but not limited to, ongoing and new capital expenditures and depreciation.

(e) (1) A statement reporting the information required in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) for each separately licensed health facility operated, conducted, or maintained by the reporting organization.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a health facility that receives a preponderance of its revenue from associated comprehensive group practice prepayment health care service plans and that is operated as a unit of a coordinated group of health facilities under common management may report the information required pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (d) for the group and not for each separately licensed health facility.

(f) Data reporting requirements established by the department shall be consistent with national standards, as applicable.

(g) A Hospital Discharge Abstract Data Record that includes all of the following:

(1) Date of birth.

(2) Sex.

(3) Race.

(4) ZIP Code.

(5) Preferred language spoken.

(6) Patient social security number, if it is contained in the patient’s medical record.

(7) Prehospital care and resuscitation, if any, including all of the following:

(A) “Do not resuscitate” (DNR) order on admission.

(B) “Do not resuscitate” (DNR) order after admission.

(8) Admission date.

(9) Source of admission.

(10) Type of admission.

(11) Discharge date.

(12) Principal diagnosis and whether the condition was present on admission.

(13) Other diagnoses and whether the conditions were present on admission.

(14) External causes of morbidity and whether present on admission.

(15) Principal procedure and date.

(16) Other procedures and dates.

(17) Total charges.

(18) Disposition of patient.

(19) Expected source of payment.

(20) Elements added pursuant to Section 128738.

(h) (1) A report on clinical placement data that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information:

(A) Estimated number days and shifts available for student use for each type of licensed bed or unit.

(B) Number of days and shifts being utilized for student use for each type of licensed bed or unit.

(C) Name of the academic institution with an approved school of nursing or nursing program utilizing each type of licensed bed or unit.

(D) Average daily patient census per type of licensed bed or unit.

(E) Average daily number of registered nurses staffing each type of licensed bed or unit.

(2) If a prelicensure clinical placement slot is available or filled for a period of time that begins in one reporting period, but ends in another reporting period, the slot shall be reported for the period in which the student began the clinical placement and shall not be reported for the reporting period in which the student ended the clinical placement.

(3) The department shall post the information specified in paragraph (1) with the information specified in subdivision (b) of Section 127750 on its internet website in a manner that allows for the information in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) to be cross-referenced against the information specified in subdivision (b) of Section 127750.

(h)

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the patient’s rights of confidentiality shall not be violated in any manner. Patient social security numbers and other data elements that the department believes could be used to determine the identity of an individual patient shall be exempt from the disclosure requirements of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(i)

(j) A person reporting data pursuant to this section shall not be liable for damages in an action based on the use or misuse of patient-identifiable data that has been mailed or otherwise transmitted to the department pursuant to the requirements of subdivision (g).

(j)

(k) A hospital shall use coding from the International Classification of Diseases in reporting diagnoses and procedures.

(k)

(l) On or before July 1, 2021, the department shall promulgate regulations as necessary to implement subdivision (e). A health facility that receives a preponderance of its revenue from associated comprehensive group practice prepayment health care service plans and that is operated as a unit of a coordinated group of health facilities under common management shall comply with the reporting requirements of subdivisions (b), (c), and (e) once the department finalizes related regulations.

SEC. 3.SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.