S-2417               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5903

                        _______________________________________________

                                                                            C 183 L 89

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Health Care & Corrections (originally sponsored by Senators Kreidler and Bauer)

Read first time 3/1/89.

AN ACT Relating to nursing home care for medically fragile children; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that inpatient skilled nursing care for children with severe physical and mental disabilities should be a part of the state's long-term care continuum.  Such medically fragile children need to be placed in long-term care facilities when in-home and residential facilities are not appropriate for their medical condition.  Currently, such placements are often not available and the children have to be placed in out-of-state facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The department of social and health services, in consultation with the department of health if created by the legislature, shall develop a plan for providing inpatient skilled nursing care to medically fragile children.  The plan shall include:  (1) Criteria and evaluation tools for identifying medically fragile children in need of inpatient skilled nursing placement; (2) identification of in-state facilities that can provide such care; (3) proposed standards for facilities providing such care; (4) a plan for providing such care; (5) a schedule for implementation of the plan; (6) identification of federal funds available to assist in providing such care; and (7) recommendations on legislative action needed to implement the plan.  The department shall submit a report to the senate health care and corrections committee and the house of representatives health care committee by December 1, 1989.