00                SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 184                                                              
01 "An Act relating to mental health patient rights and to a hospital's duty to provide same                               
02 sex staff for providing care to a mental health patient."                                                               
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 18.20 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
05            Sec. 18.20.095. Mental health patient's right to same sex staff. (a) A patient                             
06       18 years of age or older who is receiving mental health treatment and being provided                              
07       intimate care at a hospital shall have a right to have care provided by a staff member                            
08       who is the same sex as the patient.                                                                               
09            (b)  A supervisor or manager employed by a hospital shall                                                    
10                 (1)  post a notice of the right provided under (a) of this section in a                                 
11       conspicuous place; and                                                                                            
12                 (2)  if, after reasonable and good faith efforts to comply, the hospital is                             
13       unable to comply with the requirement under (a) of this section, document in the                                  
14       patient record that intimate care was provided by a staff member of the sex opposite to                           

01       the patient.                                                                                                      
02            (c)  Staff members employed by a hospital shall                                                              
03                 (1)  provide privacy for each patient, especially for patients who are the                              
04       opposite sex and when patient care involves intimate bodily functions, unavoidable                                
05       intimate touching, or nudity;                                                                                     
06                 (2)  except when with another staff member of the opposite sex, avoid                                   
07       entering patient care areas for a person of the opposite sex and areas specified for                              
08       persons of the opposite sex;                                                                                      
09                 (3)  only conduct routine safety checks and rounds of bedrooms,                                         
10       bathrooms, and shower areas of a patient who is the same sex as the staff member; and                             
11                 (4)  when entering a patient care area of a patient of the opposite sex or                              
12       an area specified for a person of the opposite sex, announce the staff member's                                   
13       presence from the doorway and conduct business from the doorway whenever                                          
14       feasible.                                                                                                         
15            (d)  In this section,                                                                                        
16                 (1)  "intimate care" means hygienic care, including bathing, dressing,                                  
17       changing, and toileting, that involves a patient's perineal area and, for a female patient,                       
18       the patient's breasts; "intimate care" does not include activities done in preparation for                        
19       medical procedures;                                                                                               
20                 (2)  "mental health treatment" means admission to a hospital primarily                                  
21       for electroconvulsive treatment or treatment with psychotropic medication, or                                     
22       admission to and retention in a health care institution for other mental health                                   
23       treatment;                                                                                                        
24                 (3)  "staff member" means a person employed by a hospital to provide                                    
25       direct patient care.