This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued several new and updated All Facilities Letters (AFLs).
Some of the AFLs include new requirements for general acute care hospitals (GACHs) that are a result of recent legislation.
- AFL 23-02 notifies all GACHs of the chaptering of Assembly Bill (AB) 1394, which requires the adoption of written policies and procedures regarding routine suicide screening and their subsequent implementation.
- AFL 23-05 notifies GACHs, acute psychiatric hospitals, and chemical dependency recovery hospitals (CDRHs) of the passage of AB 2096, which revises existing law about CDRHs and chemical dependency recovery (CDR) services. It also expands and clarifies permitted CDR service licensure scenarios.
- AFL 23-07 notifies GACHs, skilled-nursing facilities, and other facility types of the chaptering of Senate Bill 988, which clarifies their role and requirements when terminally ill patients access medicinal cannabis.
- AFL 23-08 reminds providers of the requirements to report outbreaks and unusual infectious disease occurrences to the local public health officer and CDPH. It also provides definitions and updated examples of reportable incidents.
- AFL 23-09 updates COVID-19 outbreak investigation and reporting thresholds for hospitals and long-term care facilities. It incorporates guidance from the Council for Outbreak Response – Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance and Council of Territorial Epidemiologists.
- AFL 20-31.5 announces that the TeleTracking portal was discontinued on Dec. 15, 2022, and the National Health Safety Network system will be used for GACH COVID-19 reporting.
If you have any questions, contact Trina A. Gonzalez, vice president, policy, at tgonzalez@calhospital.org or your local CDPH office.
