Health care facilities: notification of next of kin.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text is somewhat repetitive, but it clearly states that the facility must notify the public administrator if they cannot reach the next of kin after making a reasonable effort.

Health Care Facilities: Notifying Next of Kin

The bill requires health care facilities to notify the next of kin when someone dies or their body is held there, and sets penalties for non-compliance.

What This Bill Does

• Requires hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and residential care facilities for the elderly to make a reasonable attempt to notify any known next of kin if a person has died in the facility or if the body of a deceased person is being held by the hospital after death.
• If the next of kin cannot be reached after a reasonable effort, the facility must notify the public administrator of the county where the facility is located.
• Facilities that fail to comply with these requirements are liable for civil penalties ranging from $200 per day up to a maximum of $50,000.

Who It Names or Affects

• Hospitals
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Residential care facilities for the elderly

Terms To Know

Next of kin

The closest living relative or relatives of a person.

Public administrator

A government official who handles affairs when there is no one else to do so, like managing estates without heirs.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if the next of kin cannot be found.
• The bill does not provide details on how fines are calculated or enforced.
• It only covers hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and residential care facilities for the elderly.

Official Summary Text

AB 2598, as amended, Krell.
Health care facilities: notification of next of kin.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is generally a crime.
Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor.
Under existing law, if a person dies in a hospital, convalescent hospital, or board and care facility without known next of kin, the person in charge of the hospital or facility is required to give immediate notice of that fact to the public administrator of the county in which
the hospital or facility is located, and if the person in charge fails to do so, the hospital or facility is liable for the cost of internment, as specified, and specified losses incurred by the estate or beneficiaries as a result of the failure to notify.
This bill would instead require
a hospital, convalescent hospital, or board and care facility
the person in charge of a general acute care hospital or a skilled nursing facility
to make a reasonable attempt to notify any known next of kin that the person died in the
hospital or
facility, or if the body of a person is transferred to a
general acute care
hospital after death, the person in charge of the hospital
or facility
to make a reasonable attempt to notify any known next of kin that the person’s body is being held by the hospital, and if after a reasonable attempt the
hospital or
facility cannot notify next of kin, to give notice to the public administrator as described above. The bill would make a
hospital or a residential care facility for the elderly
hospital or facility
that fails to notify any known next of kin liable for a civil penalty of $200 per day, up to a maximum of $50,000, measured from the time it would take to make a reasonable
effort
attempt
to notify the next of kin, as determined by the State Department of Public
Health or the State Department of Social Services, as applicable,
Health,
until the actual knowledge by the next of kin of the decedent’s death. The bill would authorize the
applicable
department to assess
a
the
penalty after notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Because a violation of the above-described provisions by a hospital or a residential care facility for the elderly would be 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.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF