(a) (1) The Long-Term Care Patient Representative Program is established within the California Department of Aging to provide public patient representatives for residents of skilled nursing or intermediate care facilities to participate in interdisciplinary team reviews held pursuant to § 1418.8 of the Health and Safety Code in the event that a family member, friend, or other person authorized by state or federal law cannot be located, or is otherwise unavailable, unwilling, or unable to participate as a patient representative.

(2) The Office of the Long-Term Care Patient Representative is established within the California Department of Aging to coordinate and oversee the statewide provision of public patient representative services and to train and certify individuals who serve as public patient representatives in the Long-Term Care Patient Representative Program.

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(b) The department may enter into agreements with area agencies on aging, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations to provide patient representative services as local long-term care patient representative programs (“local program”). Contracts between the department and local programs shall be exempt from Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(c) The department shall provide every skilled nursing facility and intermediate care facility, and update as needed, contact information for local programs to be used for required notices.

(d) The department shall collect, analyze, and report data related to the program, including the number of residents represented and the number of interdisciplinary team meetings attended.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 85, Sec. 21. (AB 135) Effective July 16, 2021.)