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California Health and Safety Code Section 1276.5

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Health and Safety Code > California Health and Safety Code Section 1276.5

(a) The department shall adopt regulations setting forth
the minimum number of equivalent nursing hours per patient required
in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, subject to the
specific requirements of Section 14110.7 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code. However, notwithstanding Section 14110.7 or any
other provision of law, commencing January 1, 2000, the minimum
number of actual nursing hours per patient required in a skilled
nursing facility shall be 3.2 hours, except as provided in Section
1276.9.
   (b) (1) For the purposes of this section, "nursing hours" means
the number of hours of work performed per patient day by aides,
nursing assistants, or orderlies plus two times the number of hours
worked per patient day by registered nurses and licensed vocational
nurses (except directors of nursing in facilities of 60 or larger
capacity) and, in the distinct part of facilities and freestanding
facilities providing care for the developmentally disabled or
mentally disordered, by licensed psychiatric technicians who perform
direct nursing services for patients in skilled nursing and
intermediate care facilities, except when the skilled nursing and
intermediate care facility is licensed as a part of a state hospital,
and except that nursing hours for skilled nursing facilities means
the actual hours of work, without doubling the hours performed per
patient day by registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses.
   (2) Concurrent with implementation of the first year of rates
established under the Medi-Cal Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of
1990 (Article 3.8 (commencing with Section 14126) of Chapter 7 of
Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), for the
purposes of this section, "nursing hours" means the number of hours
of work performed per patient day by aides, nursing assistants,
registered nurses, and licensed vocational nurses (except directors
of nursing in facilities of 60 or larger capacity) and, in the
distinct part of facilities and freestanding facilities providing
care for the developmentally disabled or mentally disordered, by
licensed psychiatric technicians who performed direct nursing
services for patients in skilled nursing and intermediate care
facilities, except when the skilled nursing and intermediate care
facility is licensed as a part of a state hospital.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 1276, the department shall require the
utilization of a registered nurse at all times if the department
determines that the services of a skilled nursing and intermediate
care facility require the utilization of a registered nurse.
   (d) (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the administrator of
an intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled, intermediate
care facility/developmentally disabled habilitative, or an
intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled--nursing shall be
either a licensed nursing home administrator or a qualified mental
retardation professional as defined in Section 483.430 of Title 42 of
the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (2) To qualify as an administrator for an intermediate care
facility for the developmentally disabled, a qualified mental
retardation professional shall complete at least six months of
administrative training or demonstrate six months of experience in an
administrative capacity in a licensed health facility, as defined in
Section 1250, excluding those facilities specified in subdivisions
(e), (h), and (i).

Last modified: February 13, 2012