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 with an absentee notification planbegin delete or a safety plan, as specified,end delete
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 includebegin insert and be limited toend insert 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 facility, except under specified circumstances, andbegin delete to includeend delete the circumstances in which local law enforcement must be notified. Because 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:
(a) Every health facility, as defined in subdivision (c),
2(d), (e), (g), (h), (i), or (m) of Section 1250, shall, for the purpose
3of addressing issues that arise when a patient is missing from the
4facility, develop and comply with an absentee notification plan as
5part of the written plans and procedures that are required pursuant
6to federal or state law. The plan shall includebegin insert and be limited to the
7following:end insert a requirement that an administrator of the facility, or
8his or her designee, inform the patient’s authorized representative
9when that patient is missing from thebegin delete facility. The plan shall includeend delete
10begin insert
facility andend insert the circumstances in which an administrator of the
11facility, or his or her designee, shall notify local law enforcement
12when a patient is missing from the facility.
13(b) This section shall not apply to state hospitals under the
14jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals when the
15executive director of the state hospital, or his or her designee,
16determines that informing the patient’s authorized representative
17that a patient is missing will create a risk to the safety and security
18of the state hospital.
Section 1507.15 is added to the Health and Safety
20Code, to read:
Every community care facility that provides adult
22residential care or offers an adult day program shall, for the purpose
23of addressing issues that arise when an adult resident or an adult
24day program participant is missing from the facility, develop and
25comply withbegin delete a written safetyend deletebegin insert an absentee notificationend insert plan for each
26resident or participant. The plan shall be part of the written Needs
27and Services Plan. The plan shall includebegin insert and be limited to the
28following:end insert a requirement that an
administrator of the facility, or
29his or her designee, inform the resident’s or participant’s authorized
30representative when that resident or participant is missing from
31thebegin delete facility. The plan also shall includeend deletebegin insert facility andend insert the
32circumstances in which an administrator of the facility, or his or
33her designee, shall notify local law enforcement when a resident
34or participant is missing from the facility.
Section 1569.317 is added to the Health and Safety
36Code, to read:
Every residential care facility for the elderly, as
38defined in Section 1569.2, shall, for the purpose of addressing
39issues that arise when a resident is missing from the facility,
40develop and comply withbegin delete a resident safetyend deletebegin insert an absentee notificationend insert
P4 1 plan as part of the written record of the care the resident will
2receive in the facility, as described in Section 1569.80. The plan
3shall includebegin insert and be limited to the following:end insert a requirement that
4an administrator of the facility, or his or her designee,
inform the
5resident’s authorized representative when that resident is missing
6from thebegin delete facility. The plan shall includeend deletebegin insert facility and end insert the
7circumstances in which an administrator of the facility, or his or
8her designee, shall notify local law enforcement when a resident
9is missing from the facility.
Section 1584.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
11to read:
Every adult day health care center shall, for the purpose
13of addressing issues that arise when an adult day health care
14participant is missing from the facility, develop and comply with
15an absentee notification plan, as part of the individual plan of care,
16as defined in Section 1570.7. The plan shall includebegin insert and be limited
17to the following:end insert a requirement that an administrator of the facility,
18or his or her designee, inform the participant’s authorized
19representative when that participant is missing from thebegin delete facility. begin insert
facility andend insert the circumstances in which an
20The plan shall includeend delete
21administrator
of the facility, or his or her designee, shall notify
22local law enforcement when a participant is missing from the
23facility.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
25Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
26the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
27district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
28infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
29for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
30the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
31the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
32Constitution.
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