Bill Text: NJ A4579 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DOH to establish Regional Hospital System Program for Emergency Preparedness and to annually survey preparedness and resiliency of State's hospital system in event of public emergency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-09-19 - Reported and Referred to Assembly Health Committee [A4579 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4579-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CARMEN THERESA MORALES
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOH to establish Regional Hospital System Program for Emergency Preparedness and to annually survey preparedness and resiliency of State's hospital system in event of public emergency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning emergency preparedness of the State's hospital system and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Health shall establish a Regional Hospital System Program for Emergency Preparedness. Under the program, regional coalitions of hospitals and local health departments located in the State shall develop plans and strategies to coordinate resources, services, and efforts to maintain the State's hospital system in the event of a public emergency. The department shall be authorized to modify or expand a similar collaborative program in operation upon the effective date of this act to fulfill the provisions of this section.
b. In order to effectuate this program, the department shall:
(1) assign each hospital licensed in the State pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) and each local health department located within the State to a regional coalition, defined by geographic boundaries, and appoint one hospital in each coalition as the regional coordinator for the group;
(2) establish criteria that the department will utilize to assess each regional coalition's emergency preparedness plan, as submitted pursuant to subsection c. of this section. This criteria, at a minimum, shall assess each coalition's preparedness to address response coordination, medical readiness, medical surge capacity, equipment and staffing shortages, and continuity of health care services in the event of a public emergency;
(3) review and approve all emergency preparedness plans submitted pursuant to subsection c. of this section;
(4) coordinate with and support any regional coalition in order to resolve or revise an emergency preparedness plan that does not receive the department's approval;
(5) develop and implement systems for data and information sharing between and within regional coalitions both during and outside of a public emergency; and
(6) create a system under which department, hospital, or local health department leaders can be redeployed throughout the State to meet the needs of a public emergency.
c. Within 12 months of the department establishing the criteria required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section, each regional coalition, under the leadership of the regional coordinator, shall submit an emergency preparedness plan to the department. Plans created under this subsection shall be reviewed annually by the coalition and resubmitted to the department.
2. a. Upon the submission of an emergency preparedness plan by each regional coalition in the State, pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of this act, and annually thereafter, the Department of Health, in collaboration with the regional coalitions, healthcare sector stakeholders, and all relevant State agencies and entities as needed, shall survey the preparedness and resiliency of the State's hospital system in the event of a public emergency. The survey, at a minimum, shall include a review of any emergency response plan in place at a hospital licensed in the State pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), as well as any emergency preparedness plan submitted to the department pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of this act.
b. The department shall establish a grant program that provides funding and technical assistance to hospitals identified in the survey that are deficient in emergency preparedness, as determined by the department.
3 As used in this act, "public emergency" means an environmental, public health, or public safety emergency that is occurring in New Jersey or in one or more counties, regions, or other parts of the State, and which is officially recognized and declared as an emergency by the Governor of New Jersey or by the President of the United States.
4. The Department of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Health (department) to establish a Regional Hospital System Program for Emergency Preparedness and to annually survey the preparedness and resiliency of State's hospital system in event of a public emergency. As defined under the bill, "public emergency" means an environmental, public health, or public safety emergency that is occurring in New Jersey or in one or more counties, regions, or other parts of the State, and which is officially recognized and declared as an emergency by the Governor of New Jersey or by the President of the United States.
Under the Regional Hospital System Program for Emergency Preparedness, the department is required to: assign each hospital licensed in the State and each local health department located within the State to a regional coalition and appoint one hospital in each coalition as the regional coordinator for the group; establish criteria that the department will utilize to assess each regional coalition's emergency preparedness plan, as required to be submitted under bill; review and approve all emergency preparedness plans; coordinate with and support any regional coalition in order to resolve or revise an emergency preparedness plan that does not receive the department's approval; develop and implement systems for data and information sharing between and within regional coalitions both during and outside of a public emergency; and create a system under which department, hospital, or local health department leaders can be redeployed throughout the State to meet the needs of a public emergency.
Within 12 months of the department establishing the assessment criteria for the regional coalitions' emergency preparedness plans, and annually thereafter, each regional coalition, under the leadership of the regional coordinator, is required to submit an emergency preparedness plan to the department. The plans, at a minimum, are to address response coordination, medical readiness, medical surge capacity, equipment and staffing shortages, and continuity of health care services in the event of a public emergency.
Upon the submission of an emergency preparedness plan by each regional coalition in the State, and annually thereafter, the department, in collaboration with the regional coalitions, healthcare sector stakeholders, and all relevant State agencies and entities as needed, is required to survey the preparedness and resiliency of the State's hospital system in the event of a public emergency. The survey, at a minimum, is to include a review of any emergency response plan in place at a hospital licensed in the State, as well as any emergency preparedness plan submitted under the bill. The bill directs the department to establish a grant program that provides funding and technical assistance to hospitals identified in the survey that are deficient in emergency preparedness, as determined by the department.
