A theft and loss program shall be implemented by the long-term health care facilities within 90 days after January 1, 1988. The program shall include all of the following:
(a) Establishment and posting of the facility’s policy regarding theft and investigative procedures.
(b) Orientation to the policies and procedures for all employees within 90 days of employment.
(c) Documentation of lost and stolen patient property with a value of twenty-five dollars ($25) or more and, upon request, the documented theft and loss record for the past 12 months shall be made available to the State Department of Public Health, the county health department or law enforcement agencies, and to the office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in response to a specific complaint. The documentation shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A description of the article.
(2) Its estimated value.
(3) The date and time the theft or loss was discovered.
(4) If determinable, the date and time the loss or theft occurred.
(5) The action taken.
(d) A written patient personal property inventory is established upon admission and retained during the resident’s stay in the long-term health care facility. A copy of the written inventory shall be provided to the resident or the person acting on the resident’s behalf. Subsequent items brought into or removed from the facility shall be added to or deleted from the personal property inventory by the facility at the written request of the resident, the resident’s family, a responsible party, or a person acting on behalf of a resident. The facility shall not be liable for items which have not been requested to be included in the inventory or for items which have been deleted from the inventory. A copy of a current inventory shall be made available upon request to the resident, responsible party, or other authorized representative. The resident, resident’s family, or a responsible party may list those items that are not subject to addition or deletion from the inventory, such as personal clothing or laundry, that are subject to frequent removal from the facility.
(e) Inventory and surrender of the resident’s personal effects and valuables upon discharge to the resident or authorized representative in exchange for a signed receipt.
(f) Inventory and surrender of personal effects and valuables following the death of a resident to the authorized representative in exchange for a signed receipt. Immediate notice to the public administrator of the county upon the death of a resident without known next of kin as provided in Section 7600.5 of the Probate Code.
(g) Documentation, at least semiannually, of the facility’s efforts to control theft and loss, including the review of theft and loss documentation and investigative procedures and results of the investigation by the administrator and, when feasible, the resident council.
(h) Establishment of a method of marking, to the extent feasible, personal property items for identification purposes upon admission and, as added to the property inventory list, including engraving of dentures and tagging of other prosthetic devices.
(i) Reports to the local law enforcement agency within 36 hours when the administrator of the facility has reason to believe patient property with a then-current value of one hundred dollars ($100) or more has been stolen. Copies of those reports for the preceding 12 months shall be made available to the State Department of Public Health and law enforcement agencies.
(j) Maintenance of a secured area for patients’ property which is available for safekeeping of patient property upon the request of the patient or the patient’s responsible party. Provide a lock for the resident’s bedside drawer or cabinet upon request of and at the expense of the resident, the resident’s family, or authorized representative. The facility administrator shall have access to the locked areas upon request.
(k) A copy of this section and Sections 1289.3 and 1289.5 is provided by a facility to all of the residents and their responsible parties, and, available upon request, to all of the facility’s prospective residents and their responsible parties.
(l) Notification to all current residents and all new residents, upon admission, of the facility’s policies and procedures relating to the facility’s theft and loss prevention program.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 328, Sec. 112. (SB 1330) Effective January 1, 2011.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018