PRINTER'S NO. 3606

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2554

Session of

2024

INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, STAMBAUGH, RAPP, KRUPA AND JOZWIAK,

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:

Sec.

58A01. Definitions.

58A02. Response to emergency.

58A03. Inspection and review.

58A04. Facilities.

emergency).

"Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.

"Disaster emergency." A declaration by the Governor of a

disaster emergency under section 7301(c) (relating to general

authority of Governor) relating to public health.

"Facility." Any of the following:

(1) Domiciliary care as defined in section 2202-A of the

act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The

Administrative Code of 1929.

(2) A personal care home as defined in section 1001 of

the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human

(i) Home care agency.

(ii) Home care registry.

(iii) Home health care agency.

(iv) Hospice.

(v) Long-term care nursing facility.

(5) An older adult daily living center as defined in

section 2 of the act of July 11, 1990 (P.L.499, No.118),

known as the Older Adult Daily Living Centers Licensing Act.

(6) A PACE provider as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1395eee(a)

(3) (relating to payments to, and coverage of benefits under,

funds and is paid, in part, to provide care to care-dependent

individuals.

"Infectious disease coordinator." An employee of the

facility designated to implement the infectious disease plan

required under section 58A04 (relating to facilities).

"Organization." An organization that supplies or

manufactures personal protective equipment.

transmission of, a communicable illness or the pathogens that

cause communicable illness.

"Plan" or "infectious disease plan." The infectious disease

plan required under section 58A04(a).

"PPE stockpile" or "stockpile." The PPE stockpile

established under section 58A02(b).

"Recipient." An individual who receives care, services or

treatment in or from a facility.

"Relative." An individual who is related within the fifth

degree of consanguinity or affinity to a recipient in a

in this Commonwealth.

duties:

(1) Purchase and keep up-to-date a stockpile of PPE to

be used by a facility in the event of a disaster emergency in

accordance with subsection (c).

(2) Select three manufacturers of PPE from which the

organization shall procure PPE.

(3) Contract with manufacturers of PPE to provide PPE to

facilities within this Commonwealth and supply the PPE

stockpile under paragraph (4). A manufacturer must be

domiciled and manufacture PPE in this Commonwealth in order

to be eligible for a contract under this paragraph.

(iii) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located

in the southwest area of this Commonwealth.

(iv) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located in

the southeast area of this Commonwealth.

(c) Required amount of PPE.--The amount of PPE stored in the

stockpile shall be determined by the Governor, or the Governor's

designee, the first year. For each subsequent year, the PPE

stored in the stockpile shall equal the amount of PPE purchased

the previous year at a minimum, but may not be more than

quadruple the volume.

subsequent PPE stored in the stockpile, the fee shall be reduced

to 7% to fund the stockpile operations. Facilities shall

purchase all PPE from the organization. The amount that each

facility purchases is the amount that will be available to the

facility during a disaster emergency.

(e) Access to PPE.--A facility may access the stockpile to

obtain the PPE purchased by the facility for the stockpile

during a disaster emergency.

(f) Infectious Disease Advisory Commission.--

(1) The Governor shall establish the Infectious Disease

Advisory Commission.

issues relating to operations in facilities as follows:

(A) Three members of the Senate, appointed by

the President pro tempore of the Senate, in

consultation with the Majority Leader of the Senate

and the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(B) Three members of the House of

Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the

House of Representatives, in consultation with the

Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and

the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

public.

(B) One member shall be a member of an

organization who is directly involved in managing a

facility.

(C) One member shall be a member of an advocacy

or services organization who is directly involved in

providing services to older adults.

(3) The commission shall meet as necessary, but no fewer

than three times within the first 90 days of the disaster

emergency.

(4) The commission shall be responsible for examining

disaster emergency.

§ 58A03. Inspection and review.

(a) Inspections and surveys.--The department, in

consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall:

(1) Review and align all facility inspections and

surveys conducted by each department with best practices for

reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

(2) Determine the priority order for inspecting or

surveying facilities during an infectious disease outbreak.

(3) Determine a list of protocols for inspection and

facilities. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the

following:

(1) An outline of the regulations for facilities.

(2) A comparison of the regulations for facilities that

existed prior to a declaration of a disaster emergency and

any regulations that were suspended or altered during the

state of disaster emergency.

(3) An executive summary of the differences between the

regulations for facilities as determined under paragraph (2).

(c) Data reporting.--The department, in consultation with

the Department of Human Services, shall develop a single

accessible Internet website a sample infectious disease plan for

a facility to implement. The model infectious disease plan shall

fulfill the requirement under section 58A04(a) (relating to

facilities). At a minimum, the infectious disease plan shall

include:

(1) The data reporting requirements under subsection

(c).

(2) A mechanism for complaints or feedback regarding the

infectious disease plan.

(3) A method to obtain a one-year supply of PPE from the

(5) A method to screen each employee before the

employee's shift begins.

(6) A schedule that assigns staff to certain areas of

the facility.

(7) A notification system to alert relatives of

recipients in the facility of the measures the facility is

taking to prevent and respond to the communicable disease or

virus.

§ 58A04. Facilities.

(a) Infectious disease plan.--Each facility shall develop an

infectious disease plan to implement upon the declaration of a

(b) Infectious disease coordinator.--Each facility shall

designate an employee to serve as the infectious disease

coordinator within the facility during a disaster emergency to

ensure that the infectious disease plan requirements under

subsection (a) are met.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.