SB 1246 Summary

• Eliminates the requirement that the State Department of Public Health promulgate regulations for administrative penalties and instead authorizes the department to assess penalties directly using specified criteria for hospitals violating staffing and licensing laws.

• Requires general acute care hospitals to maintain and annually review a patient classification system, with at least half the review committee composed of registered nurses providing direct patient care.

• Mandates that periodic health facility inspections include review of compliance with state staffing requirements, including nurse-to-patient ratios and patient classification system regulations.

• Establishes administrative penalty amounts ranging from $75,000 to $125,000 for immediate jeopardy violations, and $2,500 to $25,000 for other violations occurring on or after January 1, 2013, with nine specified criteria for determining penalty amounts.