Section 1569.74 Of Article 7. Levels Of Care From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 3.2. >> Article 7.
1569.74
. (a) Licensed residential care facilities for the elderly
that employ health care providers may establish policies to honor a
request to forego resuscitative measures as defined in Section 4780
of the Probate Code.
(b) Any policy established pursuant to subdivision (a) shall meet
all of the following conditions:
(1) The policy shall be in writing and specify procedures to be
followed in implementing the policy.
(2) The policy and procedures shall, at all times, be available in
the facility for review by the department.
(3) The licensee shall ensure that all staff are aware of the
policy as well as the procedures to be followed in implementing the
policy.
(4) A copy of the policy shall be given to each resident who makes
a request to forego resuscitative measures and to the resident's
primary physician.
(5) A copy of the resident's request to forego resuscitative
measures shall be maintained in the facility and shall be immediately
available for review by facility staff, the licensed health care
provider, and the department.
(6) Facility staff are prohibited, on behalf of any resident, from
signing any directive document as a witness or from being the
legally recognized surrogate decisionmaker.
(7) The facility shall provide the resident's physician with a
copy of the resident's request to forego resuscitative measures form.
(c) Any action by a facility that has established policies
pursuant to subdivision (a), to honor a resident's request to forego
resuscitative measures as provided for in subdivision (a) may only be
taken in either of the following ways:
(1) By a licensed health care provider who is employed by the
facility and on the premises at the time of the life threatening
emergency.
(2) By notifying, under those conditions specified in subdivision
(c) of Section 1569.73, the hospice agency that is caring for a
resident receiving hospice services.
(d) Licensed residential care facilities for the elderly that have
not established policies pursuant to subdivision (a), may keep an
executed request to forego resuscitative measures form in the
resident's file and present it to an emergency medical technician or
paramedic when authorized to do so in writing by the resident or his
or her legally recognized surrogate decisionmaker. The request may be
honored by an emergency medical technician or by any health care
provider as defined in Section 4621 of the Probate Code, who, in the
course of professional or volunteer duties, responds to emergencies.