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

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

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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

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 25, 2024

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

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Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 17, 2023

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An act to amend Section 128735 of, and to add Article 1 2 (commencing with Section 127750) 127775) 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: Health facilities and clinics: clinical placements: nursing.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) in the California Health and Human Services Agency for the promotion of education and training of health professionals to address workforce shortage and distribution needs. Existing law establishes the Board of Registered Nursing within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities and clinics, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health.

This bill would require a health facility or clinic, upon the request of a community college or California State University with an approved school of nursing or approved nursing program, to meet with the community college or California State University and work in good faith to meet the needs of the community college or California State University program, including adding additional clinical placement slots to accommodate the nursing program. The bill would require the health facility or clinic, following that meeting, to provide written justification to the department if it cannot provide additional placement slots, as specified. The bill would subject the health facility or clinic to a $1,000 civil fine for failure to provide the written justification as required. The bill would require the department to post the written justification on its internet website.

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 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.

If there are no hospitals to meet the needs of the community colleges, the bill would authorize 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: YESNO  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Article 2 (commencing with Section 127775) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

Article  2. Nursing Clinical Placements

127775.

 A health facility or clinic, upon the request of a community college or California State University with an approved school of nursing or approved nursing program, shall meet with the community college or California State University and work in good faith to meet the needs of the community college or California State University program, including adding additional clinical placement slots to accommodate the nursing program.

127776.

 (a) If a health facility or clinic, after meeting as required by Section 127775, cannot provide additional clinical placement slots, the health facility or clinic shall provide the department with a written justification of its lack of capability or capacity to meet the needs of the community college or California State University approved school of nursing or approved nursing program. The justification shall be provided within 30 days after the meeting. The health facility or clinic shall be subject to a civil fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for failure to provide the written justification within the 30-day time period.

(b) The justification provided by a health facility or clinic for failure to provide additional clinical placement slots shall be posted on the department’s internet website.

(c) The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:

(1) “Approved school of nursing or approved nursing program” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2786 of the Business and Professions Code.

(2) “Clinic” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1200, and includes a primary care clinic and a specialty clinic, as described in Section 1204.

(3) “Health facility” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1250.