CHA News

Cal/OSHA to Hold Hospital PPE Stockpile Advisory Meeting Tomorrow, Feb. 19

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On Feb. 19, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) will convene a remote pre-rulemaking advisory meeting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (PT) to seek stakeholder input on defining the term “normal consumption” as part of implementing Assembly Bill 2537. The new law requires hospitals to have a 90-day stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) by April 1, based on normal consumption. 

This pre-rulemaking will occur prior to initiation of an emergency rulemaking process. Most concerning to CHA is Cal/OSHA’s consideration of including 2020 pandemic-level consumption in its definition of normal consumption. CHA has taken the position and has advocated for the definition of normal consumption to be consistent with the plain language of the statute and based on hospital PPE consumption during the 2019 calendar year.  

Meeting details are as follows: 

A meeting agenda and additional meeting documents, including proposed draft definitions, will be emailed to relevant stakeholders prior to the meeting. Cal/OSHA will accept written comments until close of business on Feb. 26. Comments can be emailed to doshlegal_oak@dir.ca.gov. Question about the meeting can be directed to Lisa Brokaw, staff counsel, or Chris Grossgart, assistant chief counsel, at (510) 286-7348.