00                      CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 220(HES)                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to mental health patient rights and to a hospital's duty to provide                                    
02 choice of the sex of staff providing intimate 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 staff selection.  (a)  Except                            
06       as provided under (c) of this section, a patient 18 years of age or older who is                                  
07       receiving mental health treatment and is being provided intimate care at a hospital                               
08       when the hospital has on duty more than 10 staff members to provide direct care to                                
09       mental health patients shall have a right, upon request, to care by a staff member who                            
10       is the sex that the patient requests.                                                                             
11            (b)  A supervisor or manager employed by a hospital shall                                                    
12                 (1)  post a notice of the right provided under (a) of this section in a                                 
13       conspicuous place;                                                                                                
14                 (2)  if, after reasonable and good faith efforts to comply, the hospital is                             

01       unable to comply with a patient request under (a) of this section,                                                
02                      (A)  document in the patient record that intimate care was                                         
03            provided by a licensed staff member of the sex opposite to that requested by                                 
04            the patient under (a) of this section; or                                                                    
05                      (B)  because a licensed staff member is not on duty at the time                                    
06            of the patient's request under (a) of this section, document in the patient record                           
07            that the intimate care was provided by an unlicensed staff member of the sex                                 
08            opposite to that requested under (a) of this section for that reason;                                        
09                 (3)  adopt a policy to provide intimate care as required under this                                     
10       section; and                                                                                                      
11                 (4)  distribute the policy adopted under (3) of this subsection to relevant                             
12       staff members before the provision of intimate care to a patient.                                                 
13            (c)  A hospital is exempt from the requirements under (a) of this section if                                 
14       compliance would adversely affect patient treatment.                                                              
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)  "licensed staff member" means a person licensed or certified in the                                
21       state under AS 08.64 (physicians and physician assistants), AS 08.65 (midwives),                                  
22       AS 08.68 (nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse aides), or AS 08.84 (physical                                    
23       therapists);                                                                                                      
24                 (3)  "mental health treatment" means admission to a hospital primarily                                  
25       for electroconvulsive treatment or treatment with psychotropic medication, or                                     
26       admission to and retention in a health care institution for other mental health                                   
27       treatment;                                                                                                        
28                 (4)  "staff member" means a person employed by a hospital to provide                                    
29       direct patient care.