Title HSC — California Health & Safety Code

(a) (1) In the event of a declared emergency related to a communicable disease, a skilled nursing facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1250, shall report communicable disease data in a format and schedule as required by the State Department of Public Health. (2) The…

(a) The regulations relating to the licensing of hospitals, heretofore adopted by the State Department of Public Health pursuant to former Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1400) of Division 2, and in effect immediately prior to July 1, 1973, shall remain in effect and shall be …

(a) A health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1250 may provide in any alternative setting health care services and programs which may be provided by any other provider of health care outside of a hospital building or which are not otherwise specific…

(a) The Legislature makes the following findings and declarations: (1) The theft of newborn babies from hospitals is a serious societal problem that must be addressed. (2) There is no statutory requirement that hospitals offering maternity services establish policies and procedur…

(a) On or before January 1, 2020, each general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, and acute psychiatric hospital, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1250, shall adopt and implement a linen laundry processing policy that is consistent and in …

(a) A general acute care hospital shall inform a patient or the patient’s representative, at the time of admission or as soon as reasonably possible in cases of patient incapacity or an emergency treatment circumstance, that the patient may restrict or prohibit the use or disclos…

(a) The building standards published in the California Building Standards Code by the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and the regulations adopted by the State Department of Public Health shall, as applicable, prescribe standards of adequacy, safety, and sanitati…

(a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development shall allow any general acute care hospital facility that needs to relocate services on an interim basis as part of its approval plan for compliance with Article 8 (commencing with Section 130000) or Article 9 (commencin…

In setting personnel standards for licensed health facilities pursuant to Section 1276, the department may set such standards itself or may adopt them by reference to named standard-setting organizations. If the department adopts standards for a category of health personnel by re…

Standards and regulations adopted by the state department pursuant to Section 1276 shall not require the use of a registered nurse for the performance of any service or staffing of any position in freestanding skilled nursing facilities that may lawfully be performed or staffed b…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the citizens of California are in danger of being injured and killed in the state’s surgical suites and procedural rooms in licensed health facilities, because of the many intense heat sources present in an oxygen-rich environment. It i…

(a) By January 1, 2002, the State Department of Public Health 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) The department shall adopt regulations setting forth the minimum number of equivalent nursing hours per patient required in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, subject to the specific requirements of Section 14110.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. However,…

Each facility shall certify, under penalty of perjury and to the best of their knowledge, on a form provided by the department, that funds received pursuant to increasing the staffing ratio to 3.2, as provided for in Section 1276.5, were expended for this purpose. The facility sh…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Direct care service hours” means the actual hours of work performed per patient day by a direct caregiver, as defined in paragraph (2). Until final regulations are promulgated to implement this section …

(a) (1) The Skilled Nursing Facility Minimum Staffing Penalty Account is hereby established in the State Treasury. The account shall contain all moneys deposited pursuant to subdivision (b). (2) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code or any other law, the Skilled Nu…

(a) (1) On or before May 1, 2001, the department shall determine the need, and provide subsequent recommendations, for any increase in the minimum number of nursing hours per patient day in skilled nursing facilities. The department shall analyze the relationship between staffing…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not limited to, Section 1276, the following shall apply: (a) As used in this code, “respiratory care practitioner,” “respiratory therapist,” “respiratory therapy technician,” and “inhalation therapist” mean a respiratory …

(a) A special treatment program service unit distinct part shall have a minimum 2.3 nursing hours per patient per day. (b) For purposes of this section, “special treatment program service unit distinct part” means an identifiable and physically separate unit of a skilled nursing …

(a) No license shall be issued by the department unless it finds that the premises, the management, the bylaws, rules and regulations, the equipment, the staffing, both professional and nonprofessional, and the standards of care and services are adequate and appropriate, and that…

Any officer, employee, or agent of the state department may, upon presentation of proper identification, enter and inspect any building or premises at any reasonable time to secure compliance with, or to prevent a violation of, any provision of this chapter.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the public policy of the State of California to encourage patients, nurses, members of the medical staff, and other health care workers to notify government entities of suspected unsafe patient care and conditions. The Legislature…

The Legislature finds and declares that California has an insufficient number of minority health professionals to meet the health care needs in the state. Greater numbers of minority health professionals are required to meet the special needs of population groups who face cultura…

It is the intent of the Legislature to maintain a Health Professions Career Opportunity Program designed to: (a) Increase the number of ethnic minorities in health professional training. (b) Increase the number of minority health professionals practicing in health manpower shorta…

(a) The department shall maintain a Health Professions Career Opportunity Program that shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) Implementing programs at colleges and universities selected by the department, which may include public and private institutions.…

(a) Every health facility for which a license or special permit has been issued shall be periodically inspected by the department, or by another governmental entity under contract with the department. The frequency of inspections shall vary, depending upon the type and complexity…

(a) A health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 shall report an adverse event to the department no later than five days after the adverse event has been detected, or, if that event is an ongoing urgent or emergent threat to the welfare, hea…

(a) (1) In any case in which the department receives a report from a facility pursuant to Section 1279.1, or a written or oral complaint involving a health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250, that indicates an ongoing threat of imminent dan…

(a) By January 1, 2015, the department shall provide information regarding reports of substantiated adverse events pursuant to Section 1279.1 and the outcomes of inspections and investigations conducted pursuant to Section 1279.1, on the department’s Internet Web site and in writ…

(a) A health facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (f) of Section 1250, shall develop, implement, and comply with a patient safety plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients and reducing preventable patient safety events. The patient safet…

(a) A health facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (f) of Section 1250, shall implement a facilitywide hand hygiene program. (b) Commencing January 1, 2017, a health facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (f) of Section 1250, is prohibited from usin…

(a) Every health facility, as defined in subdivision (c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), or (m) of Section 1250, shall, for the purpose of addressing issues that arise when a patient is missing from the facility, develop and comply with an absentee notification plan as part of the writ…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that evidence exists to support the development of health promotion and health-risk reduction programs as an effective method of constraining the annual inflation rate for expenditures in the health industry. It is, therefore, the intent of …

(a) In administering the National Health Service Corps State Loan Repayment Program in accordance with Section 254q-1 of Title 42 of the United States Code and related federal regulations, the Department of Health Care Access and Information shall strive, whenever feasible, to eq…

Recognizing that there is a shortage in supply of registered nurses, and that if the number of nursing students is to be materially increased to meet the demand there must first be an increase in the number of persons qualified for teaching or supervising in clinical areas, and f…

There shall be available at least 10 scholarships per year. The scholarships shall be available to any registered nurse who is enrolled in one of the following accredited nursing programs in a college or university in California that is accredited by the Western Association of Sc…

A person shall not be awarded a scholarship under subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 127980 unless: (a) They are a resident of California. (b) They are licensed as a registered nurse by this state. (c) They have complied with all the regulations adopted pursuant to this article. (…

No person shall be awarded a scholarship under subdivision (c) of Section 127980 unless he or she satisfies the requirements prescribed by subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (e) of Section 127985.

The department shall administer the program of nursing education scholarships and shall for this purpose, adopt regulations as it determines are necessary to carry out this article.

(a) The state department may provide consulting services upon request to any health facility to assist in the identification or correction of deficiencies or the upgrading of the quality of care provided by the health facility. (b) The state department shall notify the health fac…

(a) Subject to subdivision (d), prior to the effective date of regulations adopted to implement Section 1280.3, if a licensee of a health facility licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 receives a notice of deficiency constituting an immediate jeopardy to the…

(a) A clinic, health facility, home health agency, or hospice licensed pursuant to Section 1204, 1250, 1725, or 1745 shall prevent unlawful or unauthorized access to, and use or disclosure of, patients’ medical information, as defined in Section 56.05 of the Civil Code and consis…

For purposes of Sections 1280.17, 1280.18, 1280.19, and 1280.20, the following definitions apply: (a) “Department” means the State Department of Public Health. (b) “Director” means the State Public Health Officer. (c) “Medical information” means the term as defined in Section 56.…

(a) (1) The department may assess an administrative fine against any person or any provider of health care, whether licensed or unlicensed, for any violation of Section 1280.18 of this code or Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of the Civil Code in an amount as p…

(a) Every provider of health care shall establish and implement appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of a patient’s medical information. Every provider of health care shall reasonably safeguard confidential medical information from…

(a) Effective July 1, 2025, the Internal Health Information Integrity Quality Improvement Account is hereby abolished. All moneys in the fund shall be transferred to the Internal Departmental Quality Improvement Account created pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 1280.15. Any …

(a) No deficiency cited pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 1280 or Section 1280.1 shall be for the failure of a facility to meet the requirements of the California Building Standards Code if, as of January 1, 1994, the hospital building was approved under Cha…

Notwithstanding any other law, the director may send a recommendation for further investigation of, or discipline for, a potential violation of the licensee’s relevant licensing authority. The recommendation shall include all documentary evidence collected by the director in eval…

(a) Commencing on the effective date of the regulations adopted pursuant to this section, the director may assess an administrative penalty against a licensee of a health facility licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 for a deficiency constituting an immedia…

(a) If a licensee of a health facility licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 fails to report an adverse event pursuant to Section 1279.1, the department may assess the licensee a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each da…