BILL NUMBER: AB 348	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 14, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brown
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Mathis   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2015

   An act to amend Section 1420 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to long-term health care facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 348, as amended, Brown. Long-term health care facilities.
   (1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the
State Department of Public Health of health care facilities,
including long-term health care facilities, as defined. Existing law
establishes procedures to be followed when the department receives a
written or oral complaint about a long-term health care facility. A
complaint is defined to mean any notice to the department, other than
a report from the facility, of an alleged violation of applicable
requirements of state or federal law or any alleged facts that might
constitute a violation.
   This bill would require the department to complete its
investigation of the complaint within 40 working days of its receipt,
except that this period may be extended up to an additional 30 
working  days if the department has diligently attempted, but
has not been able to obtain, necessary evidence related to the
investigation. The bill would require the department, if it extends
an investigation beyond 40 working days, to notify the complainant,
in writing, of the basis for the extension. The bill would require,
effective July 1, 2016, that the department's written determination
provide specific findings concerning each alleged  violation,
  violation  and include a summary of the evidence
upon which the determination is based. The bill would require the
department to comply with those specified time periods established
for investigations and inspections of complaints from a facility of
an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal
law or any alleged facts that may constitute an alleged violation of
these requirements.  The bill would also require the department
to analyze its compliance with the timeframes for investigations
  on a quarterly basis and post those findings on its
Internet Web site. 
   (2) Existing law provides the complainant with 5 business days
after receipt of the notice of the department's determination in
which to request an informal conference, as specified.
   This bill would instead provide the complainant with 15 days after
receipt of the notice in which to request an informal conference.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1420 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1420.  (a) (1) Upon receipt of a written or oral complaint, the
department shall assign an inspector to make a preliminary review of
the complaint and shall notify the complainant within two working
days of the receipt of the complaint of the name of the inspector.
Unless the department determines that the complaint is willfully
intended to harass a licensee or is without any reasonable basis, it
shall make an onsite inspection or investigation within 10 working
days of the receipt of the complaint. In any case in which the
complaint involves a threat of imminent danger of death or serious
bodily harm, the department shall make an onsite inspection or
investigation as soon as practicable, and in no case more than 24
hours of the receipt of the complaint. In any event, the complainant
shall be promptly informed of the department's proposed course of
action and of the opportunity to accompany the inspector on the
inspection or investigation of the facility. Upon the request of
either the complainant or the department, the complainant or his or
her representative, or both, may be allowed to accompany the
inspector to the site of the alleged violations during his or her
tour of the facility, unless the inspector determines that the
privacy of any patient would be violated thereby.
   (2) When conducting an onsite inspection or investigation pursuant
to this section, the department shall collect and evaluate all
available evidence and may issue a citation based upon, but not
limited to, all of the following:
   (A) Observed conditions.
   (B) Statements of witnesses.
   (C) Facility records.
   (3) The department shall complete its investigation within 40
working days from receipt of the complaint. The 40-working-day period
may be extended up to an additional 30  working  days if
the department has diligently attempted, but has not been able to
obtain, necessary evidence related to the investigation.  The
department shall analyze its compliance with this requirement in its
annual system and staffing analysis prepared pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 1266.

   (4) If the department extends an investigation beyond 40 working
days, it shall notify the complainant, in writing, of the basis for
the extension, and shall include in the notice any outstanding
evidence and the sources from which the evidence has been sought, and
the anticipated completion date.
   (5) Within 10 working days of the completion of the complaint
investigation, the department shall notify the complainant and
licensee, in writing, of the department's determination as a result
of the inspection or investigation.
   (6) Effective July 1, 2016, the department's written determination
shall provide specific findings concerning each alleged violation,
and shall include a summary of the evidence upon which the
determination is made. The written determination shall not disclose
the names of individual residents.
   (b) Upon being notified of the department's determination as a
result of the inspection or investigation, a complainant who is
dissatisfied with the department's determination, regarding a matter
which would pose a threat to the health, safety, security, welfare,
or rights of a resident, shall be notified by the department of the
right to an informal conference, as set forth in this section. The
complainant may, within 15 days after receipt of the notice, notify
the director in writing of his or her request for an informal
conference. The informal conference shall be held with the designee
of the director for the county in which the long-term health care
facility that is the subject of the complaint is located. The
long-term health care facility may participate as a party in this
informal conference. The director's designee shall notify the
complainant and licensee of his or her determination within 10
working days after the informal conference and shall apprise the
complainant and licensee in writing of the appeal rights provided in
subdivision (c).
   (c) If the complainant is dissatisfied with the determination of
the director's designee in the county in which the facility is
located, the complainant may, within 15 days after receipt of this
determination, notify in writing the Deputy Director of the Licensing
and Certification Division of the department, who shall assign the
request to a representative of the Complainant Appeals Unit for
review of the facts that led to both determinations. As a part of the
Complainant Appeals Unit's independent investigation, and at the
request of the complainant, the representative shall interview the
complainant in the district office where the complaint was initially
referred. Based upon this review, the Deputy Director of the
Licensing and Certification Division of the department shall make his
or her own determination and notify the complainant and the facility
within 30 days.
   (d) Any citation issued as a result of a conference or review
provided for in subdivision (b) or (c) shall be issued and served
upon the facility within three working days of the final
determination, unless the licensee agrees in writing to an extension
of this time. Service shall be effected either personally or by
registered or certified mail. A copy of the citation shall also be
sent to each complainant by registered or certified mail.
   (e) A miniexit conference shall be held with the administrator or
his or her representative upon leaving the facility at the completion
of the investigation to inform him or her of the status of the
investigation. The department shall also state the items of
noncompliance and compliance found as a result of a complaint and
those items found to be in compliance, provided the disclosure
maintains the anonymity of the complainant. In any matter in which
there is a reasonable probability that the identity of the
complainant will not remain anonymous, the department shall also
notify the facility that it is unlawful to discriminate or seek
retaliation against a resident, employee, or complainant.
   (f) For purposes of this section, "complaint" means any oral or
written notice to the department, other than a report from the
facility, of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state
or federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a
violation of these requirements.
   (g) The department shall apply the timeframes for investigation or
inspection established in this section to a report from the facility
of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or
federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation of
those requirements. 
   (h) The department shall analyze its compliance with the
timeframes for investigations established in this section on a
quarterly basis, and shall, on a quarterly basis, post findings from
the analysis on its Internet Web site. The analysis shall provide
data on the department's performance, and shall include, at a
minimum, all of the following data elements:  
   (1) The number of open investigations.  
   (2) The number of completed investigations.  
   (3) The number and percentage of investigations completed within
the 40-working-day timeframe.  
   (4) The number and percentage of investigations that required a
30-working-day extension.  
   (5) The number and percentage of investigations that required a
30-working-day extension and were completed within the extended time
period.  
   (6) The average length of time to complete an investigation. 

   (7) The average length of time to complete an investigation that
was not completed by the end of the 30-working-day extended time
period.  
   (h) 
    (i)  Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to
diminish the department's authority and obligation to investigate any
alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal
law, or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation of
applicable requirements of state or federal law, and to enforce
applicable requirements of law.