9260. (Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 85, Sec. 21.)

(a) (1) The Long-Term Care Patient Representative Program is established within the California Department of Aging to provide public patient representatives for residents of skilled nursing or intermediate care facilities to participate in interdisciplinary team reviews held pursuant to Section 1418.8 of the Health and Safety Code in the event that a family member, friend, or other person authorized by state or federal law cannot be located, or is otherwise unavailable, unwilling, or unable to participate as a patient representative.

(2) The Office of the Long-Term Care Patient Representative is established within the California Department of Aging to coordinate and oversee the statewide provision of public patient representative services and to train and certify individuals who serve as public patient representatives in the Long-Term Care Patient Representative Program.

(b) The department may enter into agreements with area agencies on aging, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations to provide patient representative services as local long-term care patient representative programs (“local program”). Contracts between the department and local programs shall be exempt from Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.