Health facilities: linen laundry.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing regulations prescribe specified processes and methods by which general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals are required to launder the linens used at those facilities. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would, on or before January 1, 2020, require each general acute care hospital and acute psychiatric hospital, including those facilities that use a medical laundry service provider, to adopt and implement a linen laundry processing policy that is consistent and in accordance with the most recent infection control guidelines and standards developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.