Hospitals: emergency departments: crowding score.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license and regulate health facilities, including general acute care hospitals. A violation of those provisions is generally a crime. This bill would require a licensed general acute care hospital with an emergency department to determine the range of crowding scores, as defined, that constitute each category of the crowding scale, as provided, for its emergency department. The bill would require the hospital to calculate and record a crowding score at a minimum every 4 hours, except as specified, to assess the crowding condition of the hospital's emergency department. The bill would require, by January 1, 2025, the hospital to develop and implement a full-capacity protocol for each of the categories of the crowding scale, as specified. The bill would require the hospital to file its protocol with the Department of Health Care Access and Information and to annually report any revisions to its protocol. By expanding the scope of a crime, the 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.