BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2399
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2399 (Allen)
As Amended April 9, 2012
Majority vote
HEALTH 10-0 LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 5-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Monning, Ammiano, Atkins, |Ayes:|Swanson, Alejo, Bonnie |
| |Gordon, Mitchell, | |Lowenthal, Gorell, Yamada |
| |Nestande, Pan, | | |
| |V. Manuel P�rez, Silva, | | |
| |Williams | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
--------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Bradford, Charles |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | |
--------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires each of the five state hospitals under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to update its
injury and illness prevention plan (IIPP) at least once a year,
establish an IIPP committee to provide recommendations for updates
to the plan, and develop an incident reporting system, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires each state hospital to update its IIPP at least once a
year to include necessary safeguards to prevent workplace safety
hazards related to workplace violence associated with patient
assaults on employees.
2)Requires updated plans to at least address all of the following:
a) Control of physical access throughout the hospital and
grounds;
b) Alarm systems;
c) Presence of security personnel;
AB 2399
Page 2
d) Training;
e) Buddy systems;
f) Communication; and,
g) Emergency responses.
3)Requires DMH to submit the updated plans to the Legislature every
two years. Specifies that the requirement for submitting the
updated plans is inoperative four years after the date the first
report is due, as specified. Indicates that the plans must comply
with existing reporting requirements.
4)Directs each state hospital to establish an IIPP committee
comprised of hospital management and employees designated by the
hospital's director in consultation with the employee bargaining
units.
5)Makes the IIPP committee responsible for providing recommendations
to the hospital director for updates to the IIPP. Requires the
committee to meet at least four times per year.
6)Requires each state hospital to develop an incident reporting
system that can be used, at a minimum, to report patient assaults
on employees and report identified risks of patient assaults on
employees.
7)Provides that the reporting system must be widely accessible to
staff and be designed to provide hospital management with
immediate notification of reported incidents and identified risks.
8)Requires each state hospital to provide for timely and efficient
responses and investigations to incident reports made under the
reporting system. Requires the incident reports to be forwarded
to the IIPP committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1)Based on variation among hospitals, it is unclear precisely what
modifications or upgrades would be required of the existing
incident reporting systems and related equipment, but potential
costs associated with the changes appear fairly minor given that
these systems already exist. At least two of the five facilities
AB 2399
Page 3
have incident reporting systems that appear to meet this bill's
requirements.
2)Costs related to IIPPs and reports should be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS : The author asserts that an increasing forensic
population, insufficient staff levels, and facilities that were not
originally designed or maintained for forensic patients are the
major causes of increases in violent incidents at state hospitals.
The author maintains that creating a safer environment has a
significant impact on the well-being of both patients and staff and
can reap significant financial benefits associated with reductions
in overtime, fewer missed work days, and fewer workers' compensation
claims from staff injuries relating to patient aggression. The
author states that this bill seeks to improve worker safety by
requiring state hospitals to update their IIPPs annually with
important safeguards against workplace hazards posed by patient
assaults and establishing a formal process, through an IIPP
committee, to enable employees to work with management to make
improvements.
DMH reports that each hospital campus has its own individual IIPP.
DMH states that it is working with the Department of Industrial
Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA),
and patient and employee groups to revise the IIPPs. DMH has
reached an agreement with Cal/OSHA to establish workgroups, with
employee representation, to address identified deficiencies.
According to DMH, there has been discussion about an overarching
settlement agreement that would require DMH to adopt measures based
on these workgroup recommendations and other discussions between DMH
and Cal/OSHA relating to larger structural changes governing health
and safety at the hospitals. Both sides believe a settlement
agreement is preferable to DMH litigating appeals of each hospital's
Cal/OSHA citations because the citations are similar and, as a
result, resolution and abatement would also be similar and more
effective if it encompassed system-wide changes.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN:
0003542
AB 2399
Page 4