Health facilities: influenza vaccinations.

Existing law imposes on the State Department of Public Health various duties and responsibilities regarding the regulation of clinics and health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, as defined. Existing law requires a general acute care hospital to annually offer onsite influenza vaccinations, if available, to all hospital employees. Existing law requires a general acute care hospital to require its employees to be vaccinated, or if the employee elects not to be vaccinated, to declare in writing that he or she declined the vaccination. A violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would require clinics, as defined, and health facilities to institute measures, including aerosol transmissible diseases training, designed to maximize influenza vaccination rates and to prevent onsite health care workers affiliated with the clinic or health facility and persons with privileges on the medical staff from contracting, and transmitting to patients, the influenza virus. This bill would provide that a clinic includes a licensed clinic, a clinic conducted, operated, or maintained as an outpatient department of a hospital, or an outpatient setting, as defined. This bill would require each clinic and health facility to annually offer onsite influenza vaccinations to its employees and to require its onsite health care workers affiliated with the clinic or health facility, as defined, and persons with privileges on the medical staff, as defined, to be vaccinated. This bill would require each clinic and health facility to annually record its vaccination rate, as defined, for each year and to make those records available online or upon request. This bill would require clinics and health facilities to maintain vaccination records of their employees and permit clinics and health facilities to require documentation of vaccination or vaccination refusal from an onsite health care worker or person with privileges on the medical staff. By increasing the responsibilities of clinics and health facilities, and adding instances where a clinic or health facility could be subject to a misdemeanor, this bill would expand the definition of a crime and would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also require each clinic and health facility to develop policies to implement these provisions and to ensure nonmedical staff, as defined, compliance with vaccination requirements. This bill would require the medical staff to develop separate policies to ensure compliance with vaccination requirements imposed by the clinic or health facility. This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2015, each clinic and health facility to have a 90% or higher vaccination rate. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2015, to develop a model mandatory vaccination policy, as specified, and for each year a clinic or health facility does not achieve the 90% or higher vaccination rate, would require the clinic or health facility to adopt the model mandatory vaccination policy for the following influenza season. Existing law establishes the Medical Board of California which approves accrediting agencies of outpatient settings. Existing law permits outpatient settings to apply to an accreditation agency for a certificate of accreditation. Existing law requires every outpatient setting which is accredited to be inspected by the accreditation agency. This bill would require an accrediting agency to ensure that an outpatient setting to which it has issued a certificate is in compliance with these provisions. 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.