Amendment #1076 to H4000

Innovations to Address Emergency Department Boarding

Ms. Decker of Cambridge moves to amend the bill in section 2, by adding the following item:

4000-0052 For grants administered by the executive office of health and human services to support start-up costs, capital expenditures and rate incentives associated with the rapid creation of new inpatient mental health acute care beds, intensive community based acute treatment, community based acute treatment and partial hospitalization capacity; provided that said grants may be utilized to maintain rate incentives for beds made operational in calendar year 2021; provided further, that priority shall be given to grants that support the creation of new beds for children and adolescents; provided further, that funds shall  be expended to support staffing costs to address staffing challenges at new and existing facilities to ensure the full operation of beds and programs which shall include sufficient funding for culturally and linguistically-competent workforce recruitment, retention and training including loan forgiveness and additional incentives; provided further, that priority shall be given to grants that support new beds that would be located in underserved areas of the commonwealth; provided further, that funds may be expended for investments in crisis stabilization services for patients who are boarding, specialized training for staff including in de-escalation for clinical and ancillary staff and for surge space and behavioral health specific treatment spaces in emergency department and medical-surgical settings; and provided further, that not later than April 1, 2022, the executive office of health and human services shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care financing and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery detailing the: (i) funds distributed, delineated by recipient; (ii) number of new inpatient mental health acute care beds created with said funds, delineated by fund recipient, location and ages served; (iii) description of workforce recruitment and hiring efforts by recipient to support the creation of new beds and; (iv) projected need for the rapid creation of new beds and related staffing needs to support said beds in fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024……………….$10,000,000

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1076 to H4000

Innovations to Address Emergency Department Boarding