HB 246: RELATING TO STATE LICENSED CARE FACILITIES.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO STATE LICENSED CARE FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State, through its department of health, has oversight responsibility for the care facilities that it licenses, including adult day care centers, developmentally disabled adult foster homes, and long-term care facilities.  Decisions on placement of individuals in a care facility and assessments of the care that they receive are often made by family members of the individual.  For these family members, access to current information on the pertinent care facilities is essential.

     The legislature further finds that information on the oversight of these facilities, such as whether the department is conducting inspections, has not been made readily available to the public.  A recent example where such information and reporting were desperately needed is the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo that experienced a devastating outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of twenty-seven residents.  Information on any department of health inspections of the facility in 2020 were not made readily available and questions remained unanswered as to how these fatalities could have been prevented.

     The purpose of this Act is to require the department of health to make an understandable database-type list of all state-licensed care facilities containing information on their licenses and inspections available to the public.

     SECTION 2.  Section 321-1.8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§321‑1.8[]]  Inspections; public notice.  (a)  Beginning with inspections occurring on January 1, 2015, the department of health shall post on its website electronic copies of reports for all inspections it performs of the following state-licensed care facilities:

     (1)  Adult day health centers;

     (2)  Adult day care centers;

     (3)  Community care foster family homes;

     (4)  Developmental disabilities domiciliary homes as defined in section 321‑15.9;

     (5)  Developmentally disabled adult foster homes;

     (6)  Long-term care facilities as defined in section 349‑21(f); and

     (7)  Special treatment facilities as defined in section 334‑1.

     (b)  Each report shall be posted on the department of health's website within five working days of the conclusion of each inspection and shall include the following information:

     (1)  The date of the inspection;

     (2)  A description of violations of relevant state laws or rules, if applicable;

     (3)  Plans of correction and the status of corrective actions in response to any violations, if applicable;

     (4)  A list and description of all corrective actions taken by the facility, if applicable, to be submitted by the facility and added to the report at a later time, as determined by the department; and

     (5)  Other information regarding the quality and conditions of the facility the department of health deems appropriate.

     (c)  Each report posted on the department of health's website that reports a violation committed by a state-licensed care facility as described in subsection (a) shall be removed from the website after three years from the date the report was posted.

     (d)  In addition to the reports required by this section, the department of health shall post on its website a list of all state-licensed care facilities with the following information:    (1)  Type of care facility;

     (2)  Date the facility was first licensed;

     (3)  Date the facility's license was renewed or will be renewed;

     (4)  Date the facility's license expires;

     (5)  Date of the most recent inspection of the facility;

     (6)  Hyperlink to the most recent inspection report; and

     (7)  Any other information the department deems appropriate.

The list shall be provided in a searchable and sortable format that is easily understandable by the public.  The list shall be updated within five days of any change in its information."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

Report Title:

DOH; State-Licensed Care Facilities; Inspections; Public Notice; Website Posting

Description:

Requires the Department of Health to post on its website an easily understandable, searchable, and sortable list of all state-licensed care facilities including information on their licenses and inspections.  Requires that the list be updated within five days of any change in its information.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.