Bill Text: NJ A1116 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DHSS to establish emergency action plan for hospitals.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A1116 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A1116-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELEASE EVANS
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHSS to establish emergency action plan for hospitals.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning general hospitals and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall prescribe, by regulation, an emergency action plan for general hospitals licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), which shall comprise the actions that, at a minimum, are to be taken by all applicable facilities to prepare for and respond to:
(1) an emergency as defined in section 3 of P.L.1953, c.438 (C.App.A:9-33.1); or
(2) a public health emergency as defined in section 2 of P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-2).
b. The commissioner, to the maximum extent practicable, shall design the plan in such a manner as to:
(1) allow for variations in emergency planning, preparedness, and response among general hospitals based on the individual circumstances of each hospital and the community that it serves; and
(2) coordinate its requirements for hospitals with applicable standards or recommendations of The Joint Commission.
c. The commissioner shall consult, at a minimum, with the following in the formulation of the plan: The Joint Commission; the Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness; the Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management; the New Jersey Hospital Association; the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey; the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals; the Medical Society of New Jersey; the New Jersey State Nurses Association; and the New Jersey Public Health Association.
d. The commissioner shall periodically update the plan as the commissioner determines necessary to ensure the most effective emergency response by hospitals.
2. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to prescribe, by regulation, an emergency action plan for general hospitals.
The bill provides specifically as follows:
· The plan is to comprise the actions that, at a minimum, are to be taken by all applicable facilities to prepare for and respond to:
-- an emergency as defined in P.L.1953, c.438 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.); or
-- a public health emergency as defined in P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.).
· An emergency, as defined in P.L.1953, c.438, means the following:
-- a disaster, which means "any unusual incident resulting from natural or unnatural causes which endangers the health, safety or resources of the residents of one or more municipalities of the State, and which is or may become too large in scope or unusual in type to be handled in its entirety by regular municipal operating services"; or
-- a war emergency, which means "any disaster occurring anywhere within the State as the result of enemy attack or the imminent danger thereof."
· A public health emergency, as defined in P.L.2005, c.222, means the following:
"an occurrence or imminent threat of an occurrence that:
a. is caused or is reasonably believed to be caused by any of the following: (1) bioterrorism or an accidental release of one or more biological agents; (2) the appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated biological agent; (3) a natural disaster; (4) a chemical attack or accidental release of toxic chemicals; or (5) a nuclear attack or nuclear accident; and
b. poses a high probability of any of the following harms: (1) a large number of deaths, illness or injury in the affected population; (2) a large number of serious or long-term impairments in the affected population; or (3) exposure to a biological agent or chemical that poses a significant risk of substantial future harm to a large number of people in the affected population."
· The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, to the maximum extent practicable, is to design the emergency action plan for general hospitals in such a manner as to:
-- allow for variations in emergency planning, preparedness, and response among general hospitals based on the individual circumstances of each hospital and the community that it serves; and
-- coordinate its requirements for hospitals with applicable standards or recommendations of The Joint Commission.
· The commissioner is directed to consult, at a minimum, with the following in the formulation of the plan: The Joint Commission; the Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness; the Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management; the New Jersey Hospital Association; the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey; the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals; the Medical Society of New Jersey; the New Jersey State Nurses Association; and the New Jersey Public Health Association.
· The commissioner is to periodically update the plan as the commissioner determines necessary to ensure the most effective emergency response by hospitals.
· The bill takes effect on the 180th day after enactment, but authorizes the commissioner to take anticipatory administrative action in advance as necessary for its implementation.
