Directs the office of the state long-term care ombudsman to advertise and promote the long-term care ombudsman program (Part A); directs the commissioner of health, in consultation with the state long-term care ombudsman and the commissioners of the departments responsible for the license or certification of long-term care facilities, to establish policies and procedures for reporting, by staff and volunteers of the long-term care ombudsman program, issues concerning the health, safety and welfare of residents at long-term care facilities (Part B); includes access to state long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers within the pandemic emergency plan prepared by residential health care facilities (Part C).
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5436B
SPONSOR: Clark PURPOSE:
This bill enacts a series of reforms to the State Long-Term Care Ombuds-
man Program and related programs to increase accessibility for residents
of nursing home and residential care facilities.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Short title, sets name of the bill as the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program Maim Act.
Section 2: Legislative intent.
Part A: Adds a new subdivision 15 to section 218 of elder law. This
section directs the office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
to develop and coordinate the planning and implementation of an aware-
ness program to promote the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program This part
shall take effect immediately.
Part B: Adds a new subdivision 13 to section 2803 of the public health
law. This part requires the department of health to establish policies
and procedures allowing for staff and volunteers of the ombudsman
program to report issues directly to the department of health. These
procedures will involve establishing a hotline and portion of the
department's website specifically for the submission of reports. It also
requires the department to develop rules establishing standards for
timely and regular communications to the ombudsman program and staff
regarding issues reported by staff and volunteers, and to notify ombuds-
man staff and volunteers when inspections are being conducted at or
complaints are received at their assigned facilities. This subdivision
affirms a resident's right to privacy and ability to deny the involve-
ment of a volunteer ombudsman. This part is effective 90 days after
becoming law.
Part C: Amends subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 of
section 2803 of the public health law. This adds a plan to facilitate
access to state long-term care ombudsman staff and volunteers at no cost
and provides ombudsman staff and volunteers access to a facility. This
part is effective immediately.
Section 3: Severability clause.
Section 4: Sets effective date, provided that applicable effective dates
of Parts A through C are specifically set within the respective parts.
The A-print of this legislation removes the previous Parts D and E.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State's Long-term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) was estab-
lished more than four decades ago as part of the federal Older Americans
Act. Its purpose, in the state program's own words, is to advocate "for
residents by investigating and resolving complaints made by or on behalf
of residents; promoting the development of resident and family councils;
and informing government agencies, providers, and the general public
about issues and concerns impacting residents of long-term care facili-
ties." The effectiveness of the program, however, relies on an assump-
tion that residents and families know of the program and its services
and on the existence of effective two-way channels of communication
between LTCOP staff and volunteers and the Department of Health, to
which complaints are funneled for investigation and resolution. Signif-
icant evidence and testimonials from family members and ombudsman volun-
teers indicate that neither of these assumptions are being met.
This bill enhances the ombudsman program in several ways. The bill would
replace the name "volunteer ombudsmen" with "resident advocates" to
better reflect for families the role and intent of the ombudsman
service. It also calls for enhanced two-way communication between the
Department of Health and LTCOP. This measure would address concerns that
LTCOP volunteers and staff are often kept in the dark about the status
of complaints or required corrective actions in response to those
complaints. This communications gap seriously undercuts morale and
compromises the perceived effectiveness of volunteers diligently working
to be responsive to family and resident concerns. It also has been cited
as a likely contributing factor in why the state program-which is heavi-
ly reliant on volunteers-has such difficulty retaining adequate numbers
of such volunteers to satisfy required visitation benchmarks, as
revealed by a state comptroller report in fall 2019. Finally, it also
requires that facilities include ombudsman access as part of their
pandemic preparation plans.
FISCAL IMPACT:
To be determined.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5436--B
R. R. 26
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 16, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CLARK, GOTTFRIED, WEINSTEIN, KIM, LUNSFORD,
BURDICK, FAHY, WALLACE, SIMON, ZINERMAN, GRIFFIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
MAGNARELLI, GALEF, FORREST, THIELE, McDONALD, OTIS, MEEKS, BRONSON,
ROZIC, CUSICK, STECK, COLTON, BARRETT, BARRON, CRUZ, ANDERSON, SAYEGH,
STIRPE, WOERNER, STERN, GLICK, VANEL, CAHILL, L. ROSENTHAL, PICHARDO,
RICHARDSON, ZEBROWSKI, WILLIAMS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, DINOWITZ,
J. D. RIVERA, ABBATE, SILLITTI, BUTTENSCHON, CARROLL, LUPARDO, McMA-
HON, ABINANTI, GALLAGHER, FALL, JACOBSON, NOLAN, PERRY,
PEOPLES-STOKES, HUNTER, JACKSON, SANTABARBARA, KELLES, REYES, COOK --
read once and referred to the Committee on Aging -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules --
ordered to a third reading, passed by Assembly and delivered to the
Senate, recalled from the Senate, vote reconsidered, bill amended,
ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the special order of third
reading
AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to directing the office of
the state long-term care ombudsman to advertise and promote the long-
term care ombudsman program (Part A); to amend the public health law,
in relation to requiring the commissioner of health, in consultation
with the state long-term care ombudsman, to establish policies and
procedures for reporting, by staff and volunteers of the long-term
care ombudsman program, issues concerning the health, safety and
welfare of residents at residential health care facilities (Part B);
and to amend the public health law, in relation to including access to
state long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers within the
pandemic emergency plan prepared by residential health care facilities
(Part C)
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04808-06-1
A. 5436--B 2
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "long-term care ombudsman program reform act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. This act enacts into law legislation relating
4 to the long-term care ombudsman program. Each component is wholly
5 contained within a Part identified as Parts A through C. The effective
6 date for each particular provision contained within such Part is set
7 forth in the last section of such Part. Any provision in any section
8 contained within a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which
9 makes a reference to a section "of this act", when used in connection
10 with that particular component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the
11 corresponding section of the Part in which it is found. Section four of
12 this act sets forth the general effective date of this act.
13 PART A
14 Section 1. Section 218 of the elder law is amended by adding a new
15 subdivision 15 to read as follows:
16 15. Long-term care ombudsman program. The office of the state long-
17 term care ombudsman shall facilitate and coordinate the planning and
18 implementation of an awareness program to advertise and promote the
19 long-term care ombudsman program. Such program shall utilize educational
20 and informational materials such as media advertising, billboards,
21 social media and the official website of the long-term care ombudsman
22 program.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
24 PART B
25 Section 1. Section 2803 of the public health law is amended by adding
26 a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
27 13. (a) The commissioner, in consultation with the state long-term
28 care ombudsman, shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing
29 policies and procedures for: (i) reporting to the department, by staff
30 and volunteers of the long-term care ombudsman program, issues identi-
31 fied or witnessed by such staff and volunteers that relate to actions,
32 inactions or decisions that may adversely effect the health, safety and
33 welfare of residents at residential health care facilities licensed or
34 certified by the department in this state. Such policies and procedures
35 shall include, but not be limited to, establishing a telephone hotline
36 and reporting form on the department's website for use by long-term care
37 ombudsman program staff and volunteers for the submission of reports;
38 (ii) timely and regular communications by the department to the state
39 long-term care ombudsman and long-term care ombudsman program staff and
40 volunteers regarding such issues reported by such staff and volunteers
41 pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and the resolution of
42 such issues; and
43 (iii) requiring the department to notify ombudsman program staff and
44 volunteers at the facility where such staff and volunteers are assigned
45 of the time when the department will conduct inspections of such facili-
46 ty, including surveillance of such facility, and of any complaints
47 received by the department concerning such facility.
48 (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit in any way
49 a resident's right to privacy and confidentiality pursuant to the regu-
50 lations of the long-term care ombudsman program or the right to refuse
51 to consent to the involvement of the long-term care ombudsman.
A. 5436--B 3
1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
2 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
3 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
4 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
5 on or before such effective date.
6 PART C
7 Section 1. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 of
8 section 2803 of the public health law is amended by adding a new clause
9 (C) to read as follows:
10 (C) that includes a method to provide all residents with access, at no
11 cost, to state long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers,
12 and that provides state long-term care ombudsman program staff and
13 volunteers with access to the facility; and
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
15 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
16 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
17 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgement shall not affect,
18 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
19 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
20 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such
21 judgement shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the
22 intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if
23 such invalid provisions had not been included herein.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that
25 the applicable effective date of Parts A through C of this act shall be
26 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
