Amended  IN  Senate  August 05, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  July 27, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  July 14, 2020
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 04, 2020
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 20, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2644

Introduced by Assembly Member Wood
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Fong)

February 20, 2020

An act to add Sections 1255.9 and 102777 to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 9722 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to skilled nursing facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2644, as amended, Wood. Skilled nursing facilities: deaths: reporting.
Existing law creates the State Department of Public Health and directs the State Public Health Officer to act as the State Registrar of Vital Statistics (State Registrar). Existing law requires the State Registrar to establish registration districts within the state for the purpose of registering births and deaths, and requires the department to enforce these provisions. Existing law requires every death to be registered with the local registrar of births and deaths in the district in which the death was officially pronounced or the body was found, within 8 calendar days after death and prior to any disposition of the human remains. A failure to furnish information under these provisions is a crime.
In the event of a declared emergency related to a communicable disease, this bill would require a skilled nursing facility to report each disease-related death and suspected disease-related death to the State Department of Public Health within 24 hours of that death. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to report certain information related to those deaths on its internet website on a weekly basis.
Existing law requires a health facility, which includes a skilled nursing facility, to designate an infection control officer who is responsible for implementing testing and reporting of infections and other hospital infection control efforts. Under existing law, a violation of this provision and provisions regulating health facilities is a crime.
This bill would also require a skilled nursing facility to have a full-time dedicated Infection Preventionist staff member, as specified, who is either a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse. The bill would require a skilled nursing facility to have a plan in place for infection prevention quality control. The bill would require a skilled nursing facility to ensure all health care personnel receive infection prevention and control training on an annual basis.

Existing law, as part of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, under the direction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, in the California Department of Aging. Under existing law, representatives of the office have the right to enter long-term care facilities and to unescorted, unhindered movement within them for the purposes of identifying, hearing, investigating, and resolving complaints, among other specified purposes.

This bill would clarify that in the event of a declared emergency, a long-term care facility is prohibited from denying entry to a representative of the office.

Because a failure to comply with certain of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 1255.9 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1255.9.
 (a) (1) A skilled nursing facility shall have a full-time, dedicated Infection Preventionist (IP).
(2) The IP role may be filled either by one full-time IP staff member or by two staff members sharing the IP responsibilities, as long as the total time dedicated to the IP role equals at least the time of one full-time staff member.
(3) The IP shall be a registered nurse or licensed vocational nurse and shall not be included in the calculation of three and one-half hours of direct patient care per day provided to skilled nursing facility residents.
(b) A skilled nursing facility shall have a plan in place for infection prevention quality control.
(c) A skilled nursing facility shall ensure all health care personnel receive infection prevention and control training on an annual basis.

SEC. 2.

 Section 102777 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

102777.
 (a) In the event of a declared emergency related to a communicable disease, a skilled nursing facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1250, shall report each disease-related death and suspected disease-related death to the State Department of Public Health within 24 hours.
(b) The State Department of Public Health shall make the total number of disease-related deaths and suspected disease-related deaths, reported pursuant to this section, and the location at which they occurred, in a manner that protects patients’ medical privacy, available on its internet website on a weekly basis.

SEC. 3.Section 9722 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
9722.

(a)(1)Representatives of the office shall have the right to enter long-term care facilities and to unescorted, unhindered movement within them for the purposes of identifying, hearing, investigating, and resolving complaints, observing and monitoring conditions of residents and facilities, speaking confidentially with residents, and providing services to assist residents in protecting their health, safety, welfare, and rights. Entry shall be provided at any time deemed necessary and reasonable by the State Ombudsman to effectively carry out this chapter, for any of the purposes described in this subdivision.

(2)In the event of a declared emergency, a long-term care facility shall not prevent a representative of the office from entering the long-term care facility.

(b)This chapter does not restrict, limit, or increase any existing right of any organizations or individuals not described in subdivision (a) to enter, or provide assistance to patients or residents of, long-term care facilities.

(c)This chapter does not restrict any right or privilege of any patient or resident of a long-term care facility to receive visitors of the patient’s or resident’s choice.

(d)Notwithstanding any other law, a long-term care facility, upon request by a representative of the office, shall provide a roster, census, or other list of the names and room numbers or room locations of all current residents or patients residing in the facility.

SEC. 4.SEC. 3.

 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.