Skilled nursing facilities: medical director certification.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing regulations require each skilled nursing facility to employ a medical director who is responsible for standards, coordination, surveillance, and planning for improvement of medical care in the facility. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully or repeatedly violate these provisions. This bill would prohibit a skilled nursing facility from contracting with a person as a medical director if the person is not, or will not be within 5 years of the date of initial hire as the facility's medical director, certified by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, or an equivalent organization as determined by the department, as a Certified Medical Director. Under the bill, a medical director already employed in a skilled nursing facility as of January 1, 2022, would have until January 1, 2027, to become a Certified Medical Director. The bill would require a facility to submit to the department specified information on the medical director on an initial application, and to notify the department of any changes in its medical director within 10 calendar days of those changes, as specified. The bill would require a facility to report to the department proof of, or progress toward, certification for its medical director, and other certain information, no later than June 30, 2022. Under the bill, the above-described provisions would not apply to a skilled nursing facility that is operated as a distinct part of an acute care hospital. The bill would instead require that type of facility to designate a qualified physician as a medical director, as specified, and would set forth the criteria for that qualification. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032. By expanding the scope of an existing 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.