(a)  There is hereby established in the state department the Quality Awards Program for nursing homes.

(b)  The department shall establish criteria under the program, after consultation with stakeholder groups, for recognizing all skilled nursing facilities that provide exemplary care to residents.

(c)  (1)  Monetary awards shall be made to Quality Awards Program recipients that serve high proportions of Medi-Cal residents to the extent funds are appropriated each year in the annual Budget Act.

(2)  Monetary awards presented under this section and paid for by funds appropriated from the General Fund shall be used for staff bonuses and distributed in accordance with criteria established by the department.

(3)  Monetary awards presented under this section and paid for from funds from the Federal Citation Penalty Account shall be used to fund innovative facility grants to improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents in skilled nursing facilities, or to fund innovative efforts to increase employee recruitment, or retention, or both, subject to federal approval.

(d)  The department shall establish criteria for selecting facilities to receive the quality awards, in consultation with senior advocacy organizations, employee labor organizations representing facility employees, nursing home industry representatives, and other interested parties as deemed appropriate by the department. The criteria established pursuant to this subdivision shall not be considered regulations within the meaning of Section 11342 of the Government Code, and shall not be subject to adoption as regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(e)  The department shall publish an annual listing of the Quality Awards Program recipients with the dollar amount awarded, if applicable. The department shall also publish an annual listing of the Quality Awards Program recipients that receive innovative facility grants with the purpose of the grant and the grant amount.

(f)  All of the funds available for the programs described in this section shall be disbursed to qualified facilities by January 1, 2002, and January 1 of each year thereafter.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 171, Sec. 2.3. Effective August 10, 2001.)