NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9548
SPONSOR: Gunther (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
orders not to resuscitate; and to repeal article 29-B of the public
health law relating to orders not to resuscitate for residents of mental
hygiene facilities
PURPOSE OF GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This is one of a series of seven bills, informally. referred to as the
"Surrogate Decision-Making Improvement Acts." The bills make
technical/minor, clarifying and coordinating amendments and other
improvements to the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) (Ch. 8,
Laws of 2010) and other laws that govern health care decisions, includ-
ing life-sustaining treatment decisions, for patients who lack deci-
sion-making capacity.
This bill repeals PHL Art. 29-B, Orders Not to Resuscitate for Patients
in Mental Hygiene Facilities, which is now covered by other provisions
of the Public Health Law.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 repeals Public Health Law Article 29-B (do-not-resuscitate
orders for patients in mental hygiene facilities).
Section 2 amends § 2994-b to add subdivision 1-a to make the FHCDA
applicable to decisions regarding orders not to resuscitate for a
patient in an OMH licensed psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units
of general hospitals.
Section 3 amends PHL § 2994-cc(5) to delete a reference to PHL Article
29-B.
Section 4 amends PHL § 2994-ff to delete a reference to PHL Article
29-B.
Section 5 sets forth the effective date: ninety days after it becomes a
law.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill repeals PHL Art 29-B Orders Not To Resuscitate For Residents
Of Mental Hygiene Facilities.
Prior to 2010, PHL Art. 29-B governed DNR orders in hospitals, nursing
homes, mental hygiene facilities and elsewhere. Ch. 8, L. 2010 (i)
replaced the DNR Law with the FHCDA in hospitals and nursing homes, (ii)
amended PHL Art. 29-B to make it applicable only to residents of mental
hygiene facilities, i.e., psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units of
general hospitals, and OPWDD-operated developmental centers, and (iii)
created PHL Art. 29-CCC -Nonhospital Orders Not To Resuscitate, to cover
all other settings.
It soon became clear that there is no need for a separate DNR law for
residents of mental hygiene facilities. First, DNR orders for residents
of OPWDD-operated developmental centers were already governed by SCPA §
1750-b, making PHL Art. 29-B redundant. Second, DNR orders in psychiat-
ric hospitals and general hospital mental health units were more appro-
priately governed by the provisions in the FHCDA. Moreover variations in
DNR procedures and standards - especially between the procedures and
standards in hospital medical units and hospital mental health units
have become a source of confusion and complexity.
Accordingly section 1 of this bill repeals PHL Art. 29-B. Related amend-
ments in this bill provide that DNR decisions for patients in psychiat-
ric hospitals and units are governed by the FHCDA and confirm that DNR
decisions for all persons with developmental disabilities are governed
by SCPA 1.750-b (§§ 2 - 4).
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2013: A.7371 reported referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9548
IN ASSEMBLY
May 6, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to orders not to
resuscitate; and to repeal article 29-B of the public health law
relating to orders not to resuscitate for residents of mental hygiene
facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 29-B of the public health law is REPEALED.
2 § 2. Section 2994-b of the public health law is amended by adding a
3 new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
4 1-a. This article shall also apply to decisions regarding orders not
5 to resuscitate for a patient who lacks decision-making capacity in a
6 hospital as defined by section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.
7 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 2994-cc of the public health law, as
8 added by chapter 8 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
9 5. Consent by a patient or a surrogate for a patient [in a mental
10 hygiene facility shall be governed by article twenty-nine-B of this
11 chapter] in a facility operated or licensed by the office of mental
12 health shall be governed by this article. Consent by a patient who is
13 intellectually or otherwise developmentally disabled and is eligible for
14 life-sustaining treatment decision pursuant to section seventeen hundred
15 fifty-b of the surrogate's court procedure act shall be governed by that
16 section.
17 § 4. Section 2994-ff of the public health law, as added by chapter 8
18 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
19 § 2994-ff. Interinstitutional transfer. If a patient with a nonhospi-
20 tal order not to resuscitate is admitted to a hospital, or if a hospital
21 patient with an order not to resuscitate is transferred from a hospital
22 to a different hospital, the order shall be treated as an order not to
23 resuscitate for a patient transferred from another hospital, and shall
24 be governed by [article twenty-nine-CC of this chapter, except that any
25 such order for a patient admitted to a mental hygiene facility shall be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13615-02-4
A. 9548 2
1 governed by article twenty-nine-B] section twenty-nine hundred ninety-
2 four-l of this chapter.
3 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
4 have become a law.
