1. (a) The Department and the Department of Human Services shall establish a pediatric hospital overstay coordinator within each department.
2. (b) The coordinators shall act in the best interest of a pediatric overstay patient by coordinating between hospitals, relevant State agencies and programs, and providers of mental health and substance use disorder services.

3. (c) The coordinators shall:

   1. (1) Advocate on behalf of pediatric hospital overstay patients while maintaining appropriate patient confidentiality;
   2. (2) Review policies and procedures of relevant State agencies and make recommendations for necessary changes to the policies and procedures to better serve pediatric hospital overstay patients;

   3. (3) Maintain data on each pediatric hospital overstay patient, including:

      1. (i) Patient's length of stay;
      2. (ii) The responsible State agency, if applicable;
      3. (iii) Services needed;
      4. (iv) Placement options being sought by the patient;
      5. (v) Information regarding previous hospital admissions for a behavioral health diagnosis; and
      6. (vi) Any other relevant data; and
   4. (4) Report on the data collected under this subsection to the Secretary and the Secretary of Human Services.

Added by Acts 2025, c. 479, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025; Acts 2025, c. 480, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.