On June 22nd the California Senate unanimously passed Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson’s bill, SB 1207, to help save the lives of California nursing home residents during power outages that may result from public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), emergencies, natural disasters, and other causes.
CANHR and Long Term Care Ombudsman Services of San Luis Obispo County are co-sponsoring SB 1207.
The bill codifies existing federal standards that require skilled nursing facilities to have an alternative source of power to protect resident health and safety and maintain safe temperatures for 96 hours during any type of power outage.
As the COVID-19 pandemic collides with wildfire season, the critical need to keep residents safe in their facilities and out of emergency shelters is greater than ever. Over 2,200 California nursing home residents have died already from the coronavirus. It has never been more apparent that California needs to do a much better job of protecting the lives of nursing home residents.
SB 1207 moves next to the California Assembly, where it will likely be assigned to a policy committee and first be heard sometime during July.