Health facilities: program flexibility.

Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health has licensing authority over several categories of clinics and health facilities, including general acute care hospitals. Existing law requires the building standards published in the California Building Standards Code and the regulations adopted by the department to prescribe standards for adequacy, safety, and sanitation of the physical plant, of appropriate staffing, and of services, based on the type of health facility and the needs of the persons served. The bill would require the department to establish the Acuity-Adaptable Care Delivery Pilot Program to provide at least 2 but not more than 10 general acute care hospitals with the ability to use licensed intensive care beds as step-down and medical surgical beds interchangeably, based on the acuity of the patient, as provided. It would require, by January 1, 2015, the department to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the pilot program.