Special Populations
AB 2560 by Assembly member Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) was amended to create a Public School Health Center Support Program to oversee the establishment, retention or expansion of school health centers in collaboration with the Department of Education. Under the legislation, DHS would be responsible for maintaining a database of services provided by school health centers, as well as information on health issues that are unique to school-age children -- such as childhood obesity, asthma and immunizations. The measure would require the education department and other programs to provide technical assistance to promote new school health centers and expand and retain existing health centers (Bill text, 8/8). The bill was rereferred to the Senate Appropriations Committee (Bill status, 8/8).
AB 2745 by Assembly member Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) was amended to require hospitals to designate one or more representatives to organize and participate in regional planning meetings to improve the post-hospital transition of homeless patients Bill text, 8/7). The amended legislation defines the regions as comprising three regional hospital associations or smaller geographic areas comprising groups of hospitals in one or more counties (Bill text, 8/10). The bill would ban hospitals from transferring homeless patients to other counties to receive social, health care or other services without authorization from service providers. Originally, the bill would have required hospitals to develop protocols for discharging homeless patients (Bill text, 8/7). The bill now goes to its third reading in the Senate (Bill status, 8/10).