(a) The office shall establish a toll-free telephone hotline to receive telephone calls concerning any crises discovered by any person in a long-term care facility, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 9701. The telephone hotline established under this section shall be operated to include at least all of the following:
(1) The telephone hotline shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(2) The operator shall respond to a crisis call by contacting the appropriate office, agency, or individual in the local community in which the crisis occurred.
(3) The toll-free telephone hotline number shall be posted conspicuously in either the facility foyer, lobby, residents’ activity room, or other conspicuous location easily accessible to residents in each licensed facility by the licensee. The office shall issue, in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Public Health, guidelines concerning the posting of the toll-free telephone hotline number. The posting shall, at a minimum, include the purpose of the toll-free telephone hotline number.
(b) The office shall respond to telephone hotline calls.
(c) The toll-free telephone hotline shall be staffed in a manner consistent with available resources in the office. The office may contract for the services of organizations to staff the telephone hotline. The office shall seek to provide opportunities for older individuals to be employed to staff the hotline. The State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Social Services, and other appropriate departments, shall make available to the department and the office training and technical assistance as needed.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 649, Sec. 17. (SB 345) Effective January 1, 2013.)