(a) Any hospital that provides emergency medical services under Section 1255 shall, as soon as possible, but not later than 180 days prior to a planned reduction or elimination of the level of emergency medical services, provide notice of the intended change to the department, the local government entity in charge of the provision of health services, and all health care service plans or other entities under contract with the hospital to provide services to enrollees of the plan or other entity.
(b) In addition to the notice required by subdivision (a), the hospital shall provide, at the same time as the notice specified in subdivision (a), public notice of the intended change in a manner that is likely to reach a significant number of residents of the community serviced by that facility.
(c) A hospital shall not be subject to this section or Section 1255.2 if the department does either of the following:
(1) Determines that the use of resources to keep the emergency center open substantially threatens the stability of the hospital as a whole.
(2) Cites the emergency center for unsafe staffing practices.
(d) For purposes of this section, the public notice required in subdivision (b) shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Written notice to the city council of the city in which the hospital is located.
(2) A continuous notice posted in a conspicuous location on the home page of the hospital’s internet website.
(3) A notice published in a conspicuous location within a newspaper of general circulation serving the local geographical area in which the hospital is located. The notice shall continue for a minimum of 15 publication dates.
(4) A continuous notice posted in a conspicuous location within the internet website of a newspaper of general circulation serving the local geographical area in which the hospital is located.
(5) A notice posted at the entrance of every community clinic within the affected county in which the hospital is located that grants voluntary permission for posting.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 95, Sec. 1. (AB 2037) Effective January 1, 2021.)