Today's Law As Amended


PDF |Add To My Favorites | print page

SB-768 Hepatitis A pilot project: County of San Diego.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The County of San Diego is the second most populous county in the state, with an estimated population of 3,300,000 residents as of January 2018.
(b) In 2017, the County of San Diego suffered an outbreak of hepatitis A, that, according to the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services, resulted in at least 590 cases of hepatitis A 405 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths as of July 12, 2018.
(c) Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection that is spread person to person via feces-contaminated material.
(d) According to the County of San Diego’s May 2018 Hepatitis A Outbreak After Action Report, the county detected the hepatitis A virus outbreak in early March 2017. The county determined that the outbreak primarily affected people who were homeless or using illicit drugs. On September 1, 2017, the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services declared a local health emergency, and in October of 2017, the Governor declared a state of emergency for all of California and ordered that all measures necessary should be taken to obtain hepatitis A vaccines.

SEC. 2.

 Part 8 (commencing with Section 122480) is added to Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

PART 8. Hepatitis A Pilot Project

122480.
 (a) The County of San Diego shall operate a three-year pilot program for the purpose of providing general health care outreach and triage care for the homeless population in the County of San Diego, including providing specific outreach and vaccinations against hepatitis A.
(b) The County of San Diego’s local health department shall be the lead agency for the pilot project and shall do both of the following:
(1) Provide public health nurses at homeless shelters in the County of San Diego.
(2) Establish a mobile health unit to be dispatched for purposes of assisting public health nurses in providing health-related services to homeless individuals outside of the shelter setting.
122481.
 The County of San Diego’s local health department shall establish a written public health care outreach, triage care, and vaccination policy for the pilot project, which shall, at a minimum, require procedures and protocols for follow-up care, including the linkage to any appropriate supports and services to improve health and behavioral health outcomes for homeless individuals. The written policy shall also include protocols for specific triage and treatment services for individuals who are likely experiencing, or who are at risk for experiencing, mental health illness or cooccurring mental health and substance use disorders.
122482.
 (a) The County of San Diego’s local health department shall work in conjunction with the county’s local social services department and local mental health department for purposes of achieving the goals of the pilot project, particularly as it relates to the establishment and staffing of the mobile health unit.
(b) The pilot project shall be implemented in conjunction with other existing outreach, triage, or vaccination programs already undertaken by the County of San Diego.
122483.
 This part shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 4.
 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique public health concerns within the County of San Diego as a result of its large homeless population and the recent outbreak of hepatitis A in 2017, which resulted in at least 590 cases of hepatitis A, 405 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths in the County of San Diego as of July 12, 2018.