Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1947

Introduced by Assembly Member Chiu

February 12, 2016

An act to amend Section 1218.1 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1947, as amended, Chiu. Health facilities: affiliate clinic: licensing.

Existing law requires any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation desiring a license for a clinic or a special permit for special services to file with the State Department of Public Health a verified application on forms prescribed and furnished by the department. A clinic corporation, on behalf of a primary care clinic that has held a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license for at least the immediately preceding 5 years, with no demonstrated history of repeated or uncorrected violations of specified provisions that pose immediate jeopardy to a patient, and that has no pending action to suspend or revoke its license, is authorized to file an affiliate clinic application to establish a primary care clinic at an additional site or a mobile health care unit. The department, upon receipt of the completed affiliate clinic application submitted by the clinic corporation, is required to approve a license for the affiliate clinic, without the necessity of first conducting an initial onsite survey, if specified conditions are satisfied.

This bill would require the centralized application unit to publish on the department’s Internet Web site current checklists and instructions concerning how to complete an application for a new affiliate clinic license, as well as how to report changes to an existing affiliate primary care clinic. begin insert The bill would also delete obsolete provisions. end insert

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 1218.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

1218.1.  

(a)  A clinic corporation on behalf of a primary care
clinic that has held a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license
for at least the immediately preceding five years, with no
demonstrated history of repeated or uncorrected violations of this
chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter that pose
immediate jeopardy to a patient, as defined in subdivision (f), and
that has no pending action to suspend or revoke its license, may
file an affiliate clinic application under this section to establish a
primary care clinic at an additional site or a mobile health care
unit, either of which shall hereafter be referred to as the affiliate
clinic. The department, upon receipt of the completed affiliate
clinic application submitted by the clinic corporation, shall approve
a license for the affiliate clinic, without the necessity of first
conducting an initial onsite survey, if all of the following conditions
are met:

(1)  The clinic corporation that operates the existing licensed
primary care clinic, which shall hereafter be referred to as the
parent clinic, has submitted a completed affiliate clinic application
and the associated application fee.

(2)  The parent and affiliate clinics’ corporate officers, as
specified in Section 5213 of the Corporations Code, are the same.

(3)  The parent and affiliate clinics are owned and operated by
the same nonprofit organization with the same board of directors.

(4)  The parent and affiliate clinics have the same medical
director or directors and medical policies, procedures, protocols,
and standards.

(b) The affiliate clinic application shall consist solely of a simple
form and required supporting documents giving the following
information:

(1) The name and address of the clinic corporation’s
administrative office.

(2) The name and contact information of the clinic corporation’s
chief executive officer or executive director.

(3) The name and address of the new affiliate primary care clinic
site or the location of the new affiliate mobile health care unit.

(4) The name and contact information of the administrator of
the new affiliate primary care clinic site or mobile health care unit.

(5) The expected days and hours of operation and the services
to be provided at the new affiliate primary care clinic site or mobile
health care unit.

(6) Evidence that the new affiliate mobile health care unit meets
the requirements of the Mobile Health Care Services Act (Chapter
9 (commencing with Section 1765.101)).

(7) The type and the manufacturer of the new affiliate mobile
health care unit and the proposed area or areas where the new
affiliate mobile health care unit will be providing services.

(8) To the extent otherwise required by law, evidence of
compliance with the minimum construction standards for adequacy
and safety of the new affiliate clinic’s physical plant, pursuant to
the OSHPD 3 requirements of the most recent version of the
California Building Code applicable to clinics and subdivision (b)
of Section 1226. The compliance may be established in the form
prescribed by Section 1226.3.

(9) Evidence of fire clearance for the new affiliate clinic site.

(10) A copy of the lease or purchase agreement for the new
affiliate clinic site.

begin delete

(11) A copy of the transfer agreement between the new affiliate
clinic and a local hospital.

end delete begin delete

(12)

end delete

begin insert (11) end insert  A current list of clinic corporation board members.

(c) The affiliate clinic application shall be signed by an officer
of the clinic corporation’s board of directors or the clinic
corporation’s chief executive officer or executive director.

(d) The department shall issue a clinic license under this section
within 30 days of receipt of a completed affiliate clinic application.
If approved, a clinic license shall be issued within seven days of
approval. If the department determines that an applicant does not
meet the conditions stated in subdivision (a), it shall identify, in
writing and with particularity, the grounds for that determination,
and shall instead process the application in accordance with the
time specified in Section 1218.

(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department from
conducting a licensing inspection of the affiliate clinic at any time
after receipt of the completed affiliate clinic application.

(f) For purposes of this section, “immediate jeopardy to a
patient” means a situation in which the clinic’s noncompliance
with one or more requirements of licensure has caused, or is likely
to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a patient.

(g) The centralized application unit shall publish on the
department’s Internet Web site current checklists and instructions
concerning how to complete an application for a new affiliate clinic
license issued under this section, as well as how to report changes
to an existing affiliate primary care clinic.