AB 1577 (Low, D-Cupertino)

AB 1577 would require health care facilities, including hospitals, to annually submit to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) the number of clinical placement slots available for community college nursing students. Community colleges with nursing programs would be required to annually notify HCAI and the Bureau of Registered Nursing (BRN) of the number of clinical placement slots required for the next academic year and the number of slots that they have been unable to fill. HCAI would be required to post the information reported by the hospitals and nursing schools/programs on its website. If there are no hospitals to meet the needs of the community colleges, the bill would authorize the BRN to meet with general acute care hospitals in an attempt to match available clinical placement slots with needed slots. The bill would also establish a process for departmental review and a plan of correction or a potential fine if the hospital is not able to offer any additional slots. CHA is continuing to work with the author and sponsor — the United Nurses Associations of California — to address remaining concerns.