(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The Camp Fire in 2018 resulted in the destruction of most of the towns of the eastern part of the County of Butte, including the towns of Paradise, Magalia, and Concow, as well as Feather River Hospital in Paradise operated by Adventist Health. (2) Feather River Hospital was, by far, the largest employer in Paradise, and was the only acute care hospital service in the northeastern part of the county, including the communities of Paradise, Stirling City, Lovelock, De Sabla, and Magalia. (3) The community that lived near Feather River Hospital was made up primarily of individuals with coverage under the federal Medicare Program or the Medicaid program, and many had only limited access to transportation. Access to health care and health resources has been greatly exacerbated since the Camp Fire. (4) As the community begins to rebuild, it will be necessary for some health care services to be available to address potential injuries at worksites and during construction. (5) Because the destruction of the town of Paradise was so complete, it has created a unique situation in that it is unclear at this time whether and how long it will take for the community to rebuild, which makes it difficult for Adventist Health to determine whether a rebuild of the hospital makes sense at this point. (6) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to permit Adventist Health to provide emergency stabilization services at the site of the former Feather River Hospital for a limited period of time, to ensure the community of Paradise has access to emergency stabilization services as it begins the rebuilding process. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the community of Paradise have access to the highest quality of emergency stabilization services and, therefore, the Legislature encourages Adventist Health to staff the site with physicians who are board certified in emergency medicine, with the understanding that due to the devastation and relocation of many residents, this may not be possible. It is further the intent of the Legislature that this is a temporary approach, intended to provide a period of time to assess whether and to what extent the town of Paradise will return and make the construction of a new hospital viable. (7) It is not the intent of the Legislature to establish a model for a freestanding emergency department, which is currently, and remains, prohibited by state law. (b) The department shall issue a special permit, as defined in Section 1251.5, to allow a general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, to offer emergency stabilization services at a location that is neither inside nor contiguous to the applicant hospital, including serving as an emergency medical services receiving site if authorized to do so by the medical director of the local emergency medical services agency pursuant to Section 1798.101, if the hospital provides satisfactory evidence to the department that the hospital has a written transfer agreement with the hospital closest to the location where emergency stabilization services will be provided pursuant to this section, and any other hospital necessary to ensure the safe and effective transfer of patients needing services outside the capacity of the closest hospital, and if the applicant hospital submits and has received approval for an application pursuant to subdivision (c) and meets all of the following requirements: (1) The location is in the town of Paradise within the County of Butte and serves the same area previously served by Feather River Hospital. (2) The location meets the regulatory requirements applicable to emergency departments, as described in subdivisions (a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (k), (l), and (n) of, and paragraph (6) of subdivision (m) of, Section 70413 of, subdivision (a) of Section 70415 of, and Sections 70417, 70419, 70651, 70655, 70657, a
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