California — A new state law requires skilled nursing facilities to report all disease-related and suspected disease-related deaths to the state’s Department of Public Health within 24 hours during declared public health emergencies.
The regulation, A.B. 2644, also mandates that providers notify residents and their representatives about cases of communicable diseases.
Providers shouldn’t be too concerned about the new regulation, according to the California Association of Health Facilities. The association said the new law is expected to have “a limited impact” since long-term care providers are already required to report deaths to local and state public health officials. It added that the bill “clarifies the need to report COVID deaths, or deaths during a declared emergency.”
In addition, the new law requires SNFs to have a full-time, dedicated infection preventionist, who is either a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse, on staff, and to have a plan in place for infection prevention quality control. It also requires that SNFs ensure all healthcare personnel receive infection prevention and control training on an annual basis.
From the November 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
