STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
482
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, GALEF, BENEDETTO, MILLMAN,
BROOK-KRASNY, COLTON, CAHILL, CLARK, JAFFEE -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. GLICK, HOOPER, MAISEL, RIVERA, ROBINSON, SCARBOROUGH, WEISEN-
BERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing stan-
dards and programs relating to the prevention and/or reduction of the
incidence of hospital-acquired infections
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding two new sections
2 2819-a and 2819-b to read as follows:
3 § 2819-a. Hospital-acquired infection prevention standards. 1. The
4 commissioner shall promulgate and administer regulations and policies
5 governing the prevention of and/or the reduction in the incidence of
6 hospital-acquired infections in patients in hospitals and residential
7 health care facilities, and such rules and regulations as he or she may
8 deem appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section.
9 2. The department shall establish regulatory standards, including, but
10 not limited to quality control, educational and training standards,
11 regarding the prevention of and/or the reduction in the incidence of
12 hospital-acquired infections. These standards shall be consistent with
13 the recommendations of recognized centers of expertise in the identifi-
14 cation and prevention of hospital-acquired infections including, but not
15 limited to the National Health Care Safety Network of the Centers for
16 Disease Control and Prevention or its successor. The department shall
17 also consult with organizations representative of professions, insti-
18 tutions and those with expertise in infection control with respect to
19 the regulatory standards promulgated pursuant to this section, and shall
20 promulgate such regulations in consultation with the department of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01479-01-3
A. 482 2
1 education. The department shall solicit and consider public comment
2 prior to such establishment of such standards.
3 3. Within one hundred eighty days after the department establishes the
4 standards described in subdivision two of this section, each general
5 hospital shall develop, adopt, implement and maintain a coordinated plan
6 to prevent and/or reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections
7 in compliance with the department regulations. Such plan shall provide
8 for the following, at a minimum:
9 (a) departmental standards for the prevention of and/or the reduction
10 in the incidence of hospital-acquired infections;
11 (b) mandatory educational and training programs for employees dealing
12 with the prevention of and/or the reduction in the incidence of hospi-
13 tal-acquired infections;
14 (c) the establishment of a quality assurance committee with the
15 responsibility to review services rendered in the hospital in order to
16 improve the quality of infection prevention and reduction measures. Such
17 committee shall oversee and coordinate the program and shall insure that
18 information gathered pursuant to the program is utilized to review and
19 to revise hospital policies and procedures. At least one member of the
20 committee shall be a member of the governing board of the hospital who
21 is not otherwise affiliated with the hospital in an employment or
22 contractual capacity;
23 (d) the periodic review and the review as otherwise warranted in
24 specific instances and circumstances of the effectiveness of measures
25 designed to prevent and/or reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired
26 infections; and
27 (e) policies to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of
28 section twenty-eight hundred nineteen of this article.
29 4. Regulations under this section shall include standards to assure
30 the protection of patient privacy in data collected and released under
31 this section.
32 5. For the purposes of this section, "hospital-acquired infection"
33 shall mean any localized or systemic patient condition that:
34 (a) resulted from the presence of an infectious agent or agents, or
35 its toxin or toxins as determined by clinical examination or by labora-
36 tory testing; and
37 (b) was not found to be present or incubating at the time of admission
38 unless the infection was related to a previous admission.
39 § 2819-b. Education and training programs in infection control prac-
40 tices for sterile processing professionals. 1. For the purposes of this
41 section:
42 (a) "hospital-acquired infection" shall mean any localized or systemic
43 patient condition that: (i) resulted from the presence of an infectious
44 agent or agents, or its toxin or toxins as determined by clinical exam-
45 ination or by laboratory testing; and (ii) was not found to be present
46 or incubating at the time of admission unless the infection was related
47 to a previous admission; and
48 (b) "sterile processing professionals" shall mean personnel performing
49 cleaning, disinfection, sterilization and inventory management activ-
50 ities in the hospital setting.
51 2. Each general hospital shall:
52 (a) ensure that all sterile processing professionals employed by the
53 hospital shall, on or before July first, two thousand sixteen and every
54 four years thereafter, complete course work or training in techniques to
55 prevent or reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, appro-
56 priate to the professional's practice and approved by the department in
A. 482 3
1 accordance with the regulatory standards promulgated by the department;
2 and
3 (b) certify so to the department. The department shall provide an
4 exemption from this requirement to anyone who requests such an exemption
5 and who (i) clearly demonstrates to the department's satisfaction that
6 there would be no need for him or her to complete such course work or
7 training because of the nature of his or her practice or (ii) that he or
8 she has completed course work or training deemed by the department to be
9 equivalent to the standards for course work or training approved by the
10 department pursuant to this section.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
12 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
13 ly, the addition, amendment or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
14 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
15 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such
16 effective date.
