Amendment #32 to H4888

Care Team Planning

Ms. Malia of Boston moves to amend the bill, as amended, by inserting the following new section:-

SECTION [X].  Chapter 111 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following new section:-

Section X: (a) For the purposes of this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

"Health Care Workforce" shall mean personnel employed by or contracted to work at a facility that have an effect upon the delivery of quality care to patients, including but not limited to registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, unlicensed assistive personnel, service, maintenance, clerical, professional and technical workers, and all other health care workers.

"Facility" shall mean a hospital licensed under section 51 of this chapter, the teaching hospital of the University of Massachusetts medical school, any licensed private or state-owned and state-operated general acute care hospital, an acute psychiatric hospital, an acute care specialty hospital, or any acute care unit within a state operated healthcare facility. This definition shall not include rehabilitation facilities or long-term care facilities.

(b) Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, each facility shall establish and develop a health care workforce care planning committee within 90 days of the effective date of this section.  The membership of the planning committee shall include at least one registered nurse, one unlicensed assistive personnel, one service/maintenance worker, one professional/technical worker, one clerical worker, and one representative for each labor organization representing bargaining units at the facility.  The membership of the planning committee shall include no more than the same number of management representatives relative to the number of appointed members of the health care workforce.  The committee shall participate in at least one meeting of labor management committee training.

(c) Each facility’s health care workforce planning committee shall develop, implement, monitor and regularly adjust a comprehensive care team plan that accounts for each unit or other facility division in which direct patient care is provided.  The care team plan shall be developed to ensure that the assigned health care workforce members are sufficient to ensure a safe working environment and to provide quality care to the facility’s patients.  Further, the care team plan shall account for all anticipated variables that can influence a facility’s delivery of quality patient care including but not limited to the development of a comprehensive acuity-based classification system. The care team plan shall include account for (i) the numbers and skill mix of needed health care workforce members to be assigned to patients, (ii) anticipated patient volume, (iii) the time needed to complete expected care tasks, (iv) the need for specialized equipment and technology, (v) the physical environment of the facility; (vi) the necessity of ensuring a safe working environment; and (vii) all quality and safety data submitted on a unit-by-unit basis for each facility through PatientCareLink or any similar system.

(d) As a condition of licensure, each facility shall submit the care team plan developed under subsection (b) and (c) to the department of public health and the health policy commission on at least an annual basis.  Such submission shall include a certification from each member of the health care workforce planning committee that the care team plan submitted accurately represents the consensus decisions of the planning committee.

(e) The department of public health, in consultation with the health policy commission, shall develop rules and regulations as needed to implement this section.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #32, as changed to H4888

Care Team Planning