Requires hospitals to permit an interpreter to remain with a deaf, hard of hearing or nonverbal patient during admission to a hospital until appropriate hospital staff is assigned to interpret.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3404--A
Cal. No. 39
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE, SAYEGH, BURDICK, STECK, LUNSFORD, CONRAD,
SHIMSKY, HEVESI, TAPIA, GANDOLFO, SANTABARBARA, SEAWRIGHT, KASSAY,
GRIFFIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health --
reported from committee, advanced to a third reading, amended and
ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to treatment of deaf,
hard of hearing and nonverbal individuals during admission to a hospi-
tal
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2805-r of the public health law, as added by chap-
2 ter 451 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 2805-r. Patients unable to hear or verbally communicate. 1. The
4 department shall make regulations concerning the treatment of general
5 hospital patients who are unable to hear or verbally communicate, for
6 whatever reason, with a health care practitioner or aide.
7 2. Such regulations shall establish standards for a deaf, hard of
8 hearing or nonverbal patient to have present during [his or her] their
9 period of admission a parent, guardian, representative, interpreter or
10 authorized helper to assist in the communication with health care
11 personnel. Such person shall be permitted to remain with the patient for
12 interpretation until a hospital-provided qualified interpreter, or other
13 qualified person is assigned to the patient.
14 3. The standards established under this section shall be incorporated
15 into the statement of rights and responsibilities adopted pursuant to
16 paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred three
17 of this article.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05040-02-5
