O2474City Council Meeting: October 28, 2014 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2-41 y (CCs)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADDING SECTION 4.08.098 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE
PROHIBITING PRESENCE IN HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM WAITING AREAS
EXCEPT FOR MEDICAL SERVICES
WHEREAS, two hospital emergency rooms provide vital services within Santa
Monica; and
WHEREAS, the primary mission of these facilities is to save lives by treating
acute illness and injury; and the community depends upon them to serve that purpose;
and
WHEREAS, both facilities have limited resources in terms of personnel, space
and beds; and
WHEREAS, both are, at times, extremely busy and persons must often await
services, sometimes for lengthy periods, in specially designated waiting areas; and
WHEREAS, order must be maintained in these waiting areas so that hospital
staff can focus efficiently on the primary objective of providing emergency health care to
those suffering medical emergencies; and
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WHEREAS, order must also be maintained for the benefit of those who are
awaiting services and who may be experiencing considerable anxiety and stress and
therefore need peace and quiet; and
WHEREAS, despite the need for order and quiet in emergency room waiting
areas, disruptions occur when persons who are not awaiting medical services occupy
waiting areas, using them as lounging areas or shelters and refusing to leave upon
request by hospital personnel; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica police are summoned to the two local emergency
rooms to restore order when such disruptions occur; and
WHEREAS, the police may lack necessary legal tools in such situations and
therefore can only attempt to persuade persons inappropriately present to leave the
waiting room area; and
WHEREAS, such interactions often escalate into disputes, which further disrupt
quietude in the waiting areas; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to address this situation by establishing a
local law that will empower hospital and police personnel to efficiently address this
problem, ensure that the limited space available in hospital emergency room waiting
areas is used for its intended purpose, allow medical and other emergency room
personnel to focus their energies on addressing medical emergencies, and provide
persons awaiting care with a more peaceful and orderly environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.098 is hereby added to
read as follows:
Section 4.08.098 Restriction on Presence in waiting
areas of hospital emergency rooms.
(a) No person, other than a hospital employee,
hospital volunteer, police officer, or paramedic may be
present in the emergency room waiting area of a hospital
unless he or she is awaiting medical services or
accompanying another who is awaiting or receiving medical
services;
(b) Any person who violates subsection (a), who
refuses to leave the emergency room waiting area after
being requested to leave by a hospital employee or a police
officer, and who is convicted, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine of not
greater than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by
imprisonment in the County Jail for not more than six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
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SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Approved and adopted this 28`" day of October, 2014
Pam O'Connor, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2474 (CCS) had its introduction on October 14,
2014, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on
October 28, 2014, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, McKeown, Vazquez, Winterer
Mayor O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tern O'Day
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: Holbrook
A summary of Ordinance No. 2474 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806 .
ATTEST:
Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk