HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07231985 - 1.35 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Contra
FROM:
Phil Batchelor, ,County Administrator Costa
DATE: July 15, 1985 County
SUBJECT:
LegislT___' • -- - 1-jection Fee for Nursing Homes
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the County Administrator and Health Services Director
to seek an author for and actively pursue passage of
legislation which would impose an inspection fee for nursing
homes and which would direct the State Department of Health
Services to perform more frequent inspections of nursing homes.
BACKGROUND:
Supervisor Fanden has asked this office to consider the
feasibility of implementing an inspection fee for nursing homes
which, in turn, could fund a more frequent inspection program.
Such a program could be operated very similarly to the current
restaurant and public swimming pool programs where
Environmental Health inspects the facility regularly and the
facility pays a fee which essentially offsets the cost of the
inspection. Where a problem is found, the facility is given a
specific period of time in which to correct the violation and
the facility is then reinspected. In this manner, the public
is assured that facilities used by the public are clean and
healthful.
The proposed action would involve exploring the possibility of
doing something similar with nursing homes. An annual fee
would be assessed, perhaps at the same time as the nursing
home' s annual license fee. The State Department of Health
Services would then intensify their inspection program in an
effort to prevent problems from occurring, or to detect them
early before the problem becomes serious.
It might even be possible to propose a pilot project in this
County with the support of the nursing homes. As a tradeoff,
the legislation might propose a suspension of the existing
citations provisions of the law in an effort to determine
whether more frequent preventive inspections are more effective
in preventing problems than the existing citation and fine
system.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
X RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ] RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
_X APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S) GAM
ACTION OF BOARD ON July 21, 1985 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT III ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
County Administrator
CC: Health Services Director ATTESTED July, 23 19P,5 _
County Counsel PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF M
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
L--.-- — -
J
M382/7-83 BY q AAM DEPUTY
Page 2
The objective of the program, regardless of how it is
structured, is to insure that nursing homes are operating
safely, healthfully, and are providing an appropriate level of
care to their patients so the public will have confidence in
such facilities.