(a) A residential care facility for the elderly that accepts or retains residents with prohibited health conditions, as defined by the department, in Section 87615 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, shall assist residents with accessing home health or hospice services, as indicated in the resident’s current appraisal, to ensure that residents receive medical care as prescribed by the resident’s physician and contained in the resident’s service plan.

(b) A residential care facility for the elderly that accepts or retains residents with restricted health conditions, as defined by the department, shall ensure that residents receive medical care as prescribed by the resident’s physician and contained in the resident’s service plan by appropriately skilled professionals acting within their scope of practice. An appropriately skilled professional may not be required when the resident is providing self-care, as defined by the department, and there is documentation in the resident’s service plan that the resident is capable of providing self-care.

(c) An “appropriately skilled professional” means, for purposes of this section, an individual who has training and is licensed to perform the necessary medical procedures prescribed by a physician. This includes, but is not limited to, a registered nurse, licensed vocational nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or respiratory therapist. These professionals may include, but are not limited to, those persons employed by a home health agency, the resident, or a facility, and who are currently licensed in this state.

(d) Failure to meet or arrange to meet the needs of those residents who require health-related services as specified in the resident’s written record of care, defined pursuant to Section 1569.80, or failure to notify the physician of a resident’s illness or injury that poses a danger of death or serious bodily harm is a licensing violation and subject to civil penalty pursuant to Section 1569.49.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.

(Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 705, Sec. 2. (SB 911) Effective January 1, 2015.)