Requires residential health care facilities to update residents, authorized family members, and guardians of residents of the presence of an infection and to have in their pandemic emergency plan a plan or procedure for designating a separate cohort area.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6052
SPONSOR: Lunsford TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring
infection updates and infection control planning in residential health
care facilities
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to Enhance the current a pandemic emergency
plans required of nursing homes by adding notice to all residents and
their families or guardians within 12 hours of an infection being
detected; and to prepare separate accommodations for residents at risk
of infecting others.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amends Public Health Law § 2803(12) to add notification within 12 hours
of detecting an infection among residents or staff, and have a plan in
place for effective separation of residents suspected of being infec-
tious.
JUSTIFICATION:
In August of 2020, the New York State Senate held two public hearings to
discuss the impact of COVID-19 on residential health care facilities
(nursing homes), in which several constituents testified to inadequate
measures taken by nursing homes to keep residents safe and their fami-
lies aware of the health and wellbeing of those residing in the facili-
ties.
This legislation requires nursing homes to provide residents, their
families and community supports with timely notice when infection
arises. It will assure that every facility is ready and able to effec-
tively separate residents for their safety and the safety of others.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New legislation.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixtieth day after it becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6052
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 5, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUNSFORD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring
infection updates and infection control planning in residential health
care facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Clause (A) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivi-
2 sion 12 of section 2803 of the public health law, as added by chapter
3 114 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
4 (A) to update authorized family members and guardians of infected
5 residents at least once per day and upon a change in a resident's condi-
6 tion and at least once a week to update all residents and authorized
7 families and guardians on the number of infections and deaths at the
8 facility, and to update all residents, authorized family members, and
9 guardians of residents at the facility within twelve hours of the
10 detection of the presence of an infection by a resident or staff member,
11 by electronic or such other means as may be selected by each resident,
12 authorized family member or guardian; and
13 § 2. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 of section
14 2803 of the public health law is amended by adding a new clause (C) to
15 read as follows:
16 (C) a plan or procedure designating a separate cohort area during an
17 infectious disease outbreak in the residential health care facility for
18 the separation of residents that are suspected of being infectious,
19 including the creation of a designated infectious disease care unit; and
20 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
21 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02906-04-1
