Health facility closure: public notice: inpatient psychiatric and perinatal services.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license, regulate, and inspect health facilities, as specified, including general acute care hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Under existing law, a general acute care hospital is required to provide certain basic services, including medical, nursing, surgical, anesthesia, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and dietary services. Existing law authorizes a general acute care hospital to provide various special or supplemental services if certain conditions are met. Existing regulations define a supplemental service as an organized inpatient or outpatient service that is not required to be provided by law or regulation. Existing law requires a health facility to provide 90 days of public notice of the proposed closure or elimination of a supplemental service, and 120 days of public notice of the proposed closure or elimination of an acute psychiatric hospital. This bill would change the notice period required before proposed closure or elimination of the supplemental service of inpatient psychiatric unit or a perinatal unit from 90 days to 120 days. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the health facility to provide public notice of the proposed elimination of the supplemental service of either inpatient psychiatric unit or perinatal unit, as specified. The bill would require the health facility to conduct at least one noticed public hearing within 60 days of providing public notice of the proposed elimination of the inpatient psychiatric unit or perinatal unit and would require the health facility to accept public comment. The bill would require the health facility to post the public hearing notice and the agenda along with the public notice. The bill would require the health facility holding the public hearing to meet prescribed requirements, including notifying the board of supervisors of the county in which the health facility is located when a public hearing is scheduled and inviting the board of supervisors to provide testimony on the impacts of the elimination of the services to the county and community health systems. 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.