AB 620, as amended, Buchanan. Health and care facilities: missing patients and participants.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of the health facilities, as defined. Existing law requires certain types of health facilities, such as acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, to develop, implement, and comply with a patient safety plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients and reducing preventable patient safety events, as specified. A person who violates the provisions governing health facilities is guilty of a misdemeanor, as specified.
The Community Care Facilities Act provides for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, including residential facilities and facilities that provide adult day programs. A person who violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined. A person who violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Existing law, the California Adult Day Health Care Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of adult day health care centers, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. A person who negligently, repeatedly, or willfully violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor.
This bill would require specified health facilities, including various kinds of intermediate care facilities, congregate living health facilities, and skilled nursing facilities, community care facilities providing adult residential care or offering adult day programs, residential care facilities for the elderly, and adult day health care centers to develop and comply withbegin insert
an absentee notification plan orend insert a safety plan, as specified, for the purpose of addressing issues that arise when a patient, resident, or participant, as applicable, is missing from the facility. The bill would require the plan to include a requirement that an administrator of the facility, or his or her designee, inform the patient’s, resident’s, or participant’s authorized representative when that patient, resident, or participant is missing from the facilitybegin insert, except under specified circumstances,end insert and to include the circumstances in which local law enforcement must be notified. Becausebegin delete negligent, repeated, or willfulend delete violations of these provisions would be misdemeanors, the 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. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1279.8 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code, to read:
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insert Every health facility, as defined in subdivision
4(c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), or (m) of Section 1250, shall, for the
P3 1purpose of addressing issues that arise when a patient is missing
2from the facility, develop and comply withbegin delete a patient safetyend deletebegin insert an
3absentee notificationend insert plan as part of the written plans and
4procedures that are required pursuant to federal or
state law. The
5plan shall include a requirement that an administrator of the facility,
6or his or her designee, inform the patient’s authorized
7representative when that patient is missing from the facility. The
8plan shall include the circumstances in which an administrator of
9the facility, or his or her designee, shall notify local law
10enforcement when a patient is missing from the facility.
11(b) This section shall not apply to state hospitals under the
12jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals when the
13executive director of the state hospital, or his or her designee,
14determines that informing the patient’s authorized representative
15that a patient is missing will create a risk to the safety and security
16of the state hospital.
Section 1507.15 is added to the Health and Safety
18Code, to read:
Every community care facility that provides adult
20residential care or offers an adult day program shall, for the purpose
21of addressing issues that arise when an adult resident or an adult
22day program participant is missing from the facility, develop and
23comply with a written safety plan for each resident or participant.
24The plan shall be part of the written Needs and Services Plan. The
25plan shall include a requirement that an administrator of the facility,
26or his or her designee, inform
the resident’s or participant’s
27authorized representative when that resident or participant is
28missing from the facility. The plan also shall include the
29circumstances in which an administrator of the facility, or his or
30her designee, shall notify local law enforcement when a resident
31or participant is missing from the facility.
Section 1569.317 is added to the Health and Safety
33Code, to read:
Every residential care facility for the elderly, as
35defined in Section 1569.2, shall, for the purpose of addressing
36issues that arise when a resident is missing from the facility,
37develop and comply with a resident safety plan as part of the
38written record of the care the resident will receive in the facility,
39as described in Section 1569.80. The plan shall include a
40requirement that an administrator of the facility, or his or her
P4 1designee, inform the resident’s authorized representative when
2that resident is missing from the facility. The plan shall include
3the circumstances in which an administrator of the facility, or his
4or her designee, shall notify local law enforcement when a resident
5is missing from the
facility.
Section 1584.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
7to read:
Every adult day health care center shall, for the purpose
9of addressing issues that arise when an adult day health care
10participant is missing from the facility, develop and comply with
11begin delete a participant safetyend deletebegin insert an absentee notificationend insert plan, as part of the
12individual plan of care, as defined in Section 1570.7. The plan
13shall include a requirement that an administrator of the facility, or
14his or her designee, inform the participant’s authorized
15representative when that participant is missing from the facility.
16The plan shall include the circumstances in which an administrator
17
of the facility, or his or her designee, shall notify local law
18enforcement when a participant is missing from the facility.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
20Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
21the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
22district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
23infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
24for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
25the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
26the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
27Constitution.
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