BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 259
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 1, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 259 (Logue) - As Amended:  April 16, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              HealthVote:18-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes it a misdemeanor for a long-term health care  
          facility, community care facility, adult day health care center,  
          or residential care facility for the elderly, to have a policy  
          that prohibits any employee from administering cardiopulmonary  
          resuscitation (CPR) with an exception if there is a "do not  
          resuscitate" (DNR) form or other similar instructions, as  
          specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs, if any. 

           COMMENTS
           
           1)Rationale  . This bill was introduced in response to a February  
            2013 incident at the Brookdale Senior Living/Glenwood Gardens  
            retirement community in Bakersfield, California. An individual  
            who identified herself as a nurse refused pleas from a 911  
            operator to perform CPR on an elderly woman. The elderly woman  
            later died and the nurse's failure to perform CPR was  
            reportedly consistent with the facility's policy in an  
            emergency, "to immediately call emergency medical personnel  
            for assistance and to wait with the individual needing  
            attention until such personnel arrives."

           2)Consumer expectations in long-term care  .  California Advocates  
            for Nursing Home Reform states this bill comports with  
            long-term care consumers' expectations that CPR will be  
            performed when they are in severe respiratory distress and  
            they have no DNR order.









                                                                  AB 259
                                                                  Page  2

           3)Drafting concern  . As drafted, it is unclear how or when the  
            Departments of Public Health or Social Services, which  
            regulate the affected facilities, would ensure compliance.   
            There does not appear to be any enforcement mechanism in this  
            bill.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debra Roth / APPR. / (916) 319-2081