SB 455, as amended, Hernandez. General acute care hospitals: patient classification system.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the licensing and regulation of health facilities, as defined.
Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations governing the operation of a health facility, including, but not limited to, regulations that require prescribed health facilities to meet minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, and to assign additional staff according to a documented patient classification system for determining nursing care requirements. Violation of these provisions, or willful or repeated violation of the rules or regulations, is a crime.
This bill would require the department tobegin delete adopt, and periodically amend as needed, regulations toend delete
require every general acute care hospital to establish and maintain a patient classification systembegin delete designed to accurately measure a patient’s care needs. The bill would require the regulations to require appointment of aend deletebegin insert for establishing staffing requirements by unit, patient, and shift, and to establish aend insert review committee to reviewbegin delete and approveend delete the reliability of the system, and reviewbegin delete and updating ofend delete the system at least annually. By changing the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandate 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 1276.35 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code, immediately following Section 1276.3, to read:
(a) The State Department of Public Health shall
4begin delete adoptend deletebegin deleteregulations thatend delete require every health facility licensed pursuant
5to subdivision (a) of Section 1250 to do all of the following:
6(1) Establish and maintain a patient classification system
7begin deletedesigned to accurately measure a patient’s care needsend deletebegin insert for
8establishing staffing requirements by unit, patient, and shiftend insert.
9(2) Establish a patient classification system review committee
10to reviewbegin delete and approveend delete the reliability of the patient classification
11system, as follows:
12(A) The review committee shall be appointed by the nursing
13administration of the facility, except as set forth in subparagraph
14(C).
15(B) At least one-half of the membership of the review committee
16shall be composed of registered nurses who provide direct patient
17care.
18(C) If the registered nurses are represented by a collective
19bargaining agent, the registered nurses shall be appointed by the
20bargaining agent.
21(3) The patient classification system shall be reviewed begin deleteand at least annually.
22updated end delete
23(b) begin deleteThe department shall periodically review and update its begin insertNo new regulations are required or
24regulations, as needed. end delete
25authorized for implementation of this section.end insert
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
27Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
28the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
P3 1district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
2infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
3for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
4the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
5the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
6Constitution.
O
98