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AB-394 Health facilities: nursing staff.(1999-2000)

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Assembly Bill No. 394
CHAPTER 945

An act to add Section 2725.3 to the Business and Professions Code, and to add Section 1276.4 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health care.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  October 10, 1999. Approved by Governor  October 10, 1999. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 394, Kuehl. Health facilities: nursing staff.
Existing law provides for the licensing, registration, and regulation of nurses, and sets forth the scope of practice.
This bill would prohibit a general acute care hospital, an acute psychiatric hospital, and a special hospital, as defined, from assigning an unlicensed person to perform nursing functions in lieu of a registered nurse, or from allowing unlicensed personnel under the direct clinical supervision of a registered nurse to perform certain functions.
Existing law prohibits operation of a health facility, as defined, without a license issued by the State Department of Health Services and provides for the issuance of licenses and for the regulation of health facilities and sets forth the services to be provided therein. Willful or repeated violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, with regard to general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals, to adopt regulations that establish certain minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, and would require these health facilities to adopt written policies and procedures for training and orientation of nursing staff. This bill would authorize the department to take into consideration the unique nature of the University of California teaching hospitals as educational institutions when establishing the ratios, in accordance with certain requirements. This bill would also require a county hospital in Los Angeles County to be subject to a phase-in process developed in conjunction with the department.
By changing the definition of an existing crime this 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.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Health care services are becoming complex and it is increasingly difficult for patients to access integrated services.
(b) Quality of patient care is jeopardized because of staffing changes implemented in response to managed care.
(c) To ensure the adequate protection of patients in acute care settings, it is essential that qualified registered nurses and other licensed nurses be accessible and available to meet the needs of patients.
(d) The basic principles of staffing in the acute care setting should be based on the patient’s care needs, the severity of condition, services needed, and the complexity surrounding those services.

SEC. 2.

 Section 2725.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

2725.3.
 (a) A health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (f), of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code shall not assign unlicensed personnel to perform nursing functions in lieu of a registered nurse and may not allow unlicensed personnel to perform functions under the direct clinical supervision of a registered nurse that require a substantial amount of scientific knowledge and technical skills, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Administration of medication.
(2) Venipuncture or intravenous therapy.
(3) Parenteral or tube feedings.
(4) Invasive procedures including inserting nasogastric tubes, inserting catheters, or tracheal suctioning.
(5) Assessment of patient condition.
(6) Educating patients and their families concerning the patient’s health care problems, including postdischarge care.
(7) Moderate complexity laboratory tests.
(b) This section shall not preclude any person from performing any act or function that he or she is authorized to perform pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) or pursuant to existing statute or regulation as of July 1, 1999.

SEC. 3.

 Section 1276.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1276.4.
 (a) By January 1, 2001, the State Department of Health Services shall adopt regulations that establish minimum, specific, and numerical licensed nurse-to-patient ratios by licensed nurse classification and by hospital unit for all health facilities licensed pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250. The department shall adopt these regulations in accordance with the department’s licensing and certification regulations as stated in Sections 70053.2, 70215, and 70217 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, and the professional and vocational regulations in Section 1443.5 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations. The department shall review these regulations five years after adoption and shall report to the Legislature regarding any proposed changes. Flexibility shall be considered by the department for rural general acute care hospitals in response to their special needs. As used in this subdivision, “hospital unit” means a critical care unit, burn unit, labor and delivery room, postanesthesia service area, emergency department, operating room, pediatric unit, step-down/intermediate care unit, specialty care unit, telemetry unit, general medical care unit, subacute care unit, and transitional inpatient care unit. The regulation addressing the emergency department shall distinguish between regularly scheduled core staff licensed nurses and additional licensed nurses required to care for critical care patients in the emergency department.
(b) These ratios shall constitute the minimum number of registered and licensed nurses that shall be allocated. Additional staff shall be assigned in accordance with a documented patient classification system for determining nursing care requirements, including the severity of the illness, the need for specialized equipment and technology, the complexity of clinical judgment needed to design, implement, and evaluate the patient care plan and the ability for self-care, and the licensure of the personnel required for care.
(c) “Critical care unit” as used in this section means a unit that is established to safeguard and protect patients whose severity of medical conditions requires continuous monitoring, and complex intervention by licensed nurses.
(d) All health facilities licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 shall adopt written policies and procedures for training and orientation of nursing staff.
(e) No registered nurse shall be assigned to a nursing unit or clinical area unless that nurse has first received orientation in that clinical area sufficient to provide competent care to patients in that area, and has demonstrated current competence in providing care in that area.
(f) The written policies and procedures for orientation of nursing staff shall require that all temporary personnel shall receive orientation and be subject to competency validation consistent with Sections 70016.1 and 70214 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(g) Requests for waivers to this section that do not jeopardize the health, safety, and well-being of patients affected and that are needed for increased operational efficiency may be granted by the state department to rural general acute care hospitals meeting the criteria set forth in Section 70059.1 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(h) In case of conflict between this section and any provision or regulation defining the scope of nursing practice, the scope of practice provisions shall control.
(i) The regulations adopted by the department shall augment and not replace existing nurse-to-patient ratios that exist in regulation or law for the intensive care units, the neonatal intensive care units, or the operating room.
(j) The regulations adopted by the department shall not replace existing licensed staff-to-patient ratios for hospitals operated by the State Department of Mental Health.
(k) The regulations adopted by the department for health facilities licensed under subdivision (b) of Section 1250 that are not operated by the State Department of Mental Health shall take into account the special needs of the patients served in the psychiatric units.
(l) The department may take into consideration the unique nature of the University of California teaching hospitals as educational institutions when establishing licensed nurse-to-patient ratios. The department shall coordinate with the Board of Registered Nursing to ensure that staffing ratios are consistent with the Board of Registered Nursing approved nursing education requirements. This includes nursing clinical experience incidental to a work-study program rendered in a University of California clinical facility approved by the Board of Registered Nursing provided there will be sufficient direct care registered nurse preceptors available to ensure safe patient care.
(m) A county hospital in a county of the first class, as defined in Section 28022 of the Government Code, shall be subject to a phase-in process developed in conjunction with the department. This phase-in process shall be completed within one year of the adoption of the regulations that implement this section.

SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.