Establishes minimum staffing ratios in facilities operated under the jurisdiction of the office of mental health; provides that the office of mental health shall report quarterly to the governor and the legislature setting forth present staff ratios and comparisons to past staff ratios.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6349
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 25, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRENNAN, JAFFEE, BOYLAND, BENEDETTO -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, GIBSON, HOOPER, JACOBS, LUPARDO,
PERRY, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental
Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing
minimum staffing ratios in facilities operated under the jurisdiction
of the office of mental health
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section
2 7.45 to read as follows:
3 § 7.45 Minimum staffing ratios.
4 (a) As used in this section the following terms shall have the follow-
5 ing meanings:
6 1. "Short stay patient" shall mean a direct admission or indirect
7 admission patient within a facility under the jurisdiction of the
8 office.
9 2. "Specialized care patient" shall mean a patient, within a facility
10 operated under the jurisdiction of the office, receiving any one or
11 combination of secure care services, infirmary services, deafness
12 services or intensive rehabilitative services. For the purposes of clas-
13 sification, multiply disabled patients or patients referred to a facili-
14 ty by the department of corrections, the office of children and family
15 services or by court order shall also be designated as specialized care
16 patients.
17 3. "Extended care patient" shall mean a patient, within a facility
18 operated under the jurisdiction of the office, receiving geriatric care
19 or rehabilitative care.
20 4. "Short stay unit" shall be a unit, operated within a facility under
21 the jurisdiction of the office, that includes at least one short stay
22 patient as defined in paragraph one of this subdivision.
23 5. "Specialized care unit" shall be a unit, operated within a facility
24 under the jurisdiction of the office, that includes at least one
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09785-01-3
A. 6349 2
1 specialized care patient, as defined in paragraph two of this subdivi-
2 sion.
3 6. "Extended care unit" shall be a unit operated within a facility
4 under the jurisdiction of the office that includes at least one extended
5 care patient as defined in paragraph three of this subdivision.
6 7. "Direct care workforce" shall include the disciplines of licensed
7 practical nurse, supervising licensed practical nurse, mental health
8 therapy aide, mental hygiene therapy assistant I, mental hygiene therapy
9 assistant II, mental hygiene ward aide, secure care treatment aide I,
10 secure care treatment aide II, registered nurse, physician, psychia-
11 trist, psychologist, social worker, recreation therapist, and rehabili-
12 tation counselor.
13 8. "Staffing ratio" shall mean the ratio of direct care employees to
14 the actual number of patients within a short stay unit, specialized care
15 unit or extended care unit. For the purposes of determining staffing
16 ratios pursuant to this section, "direct care employee" shall include
17 two categories. Category one shall include the titles of licensed prac-
18 tical nurse, supervising licensed practical nurse, mental health thera-
19 py aide, mental hygiene therapy assistant I, mental hygiene therapy
20 assistant II, mental hygiene ward aide, secure care treatment aide I,
21 secure care treatment aide II. Category two shall include the disci-
22 plines of physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, regis-
23 tered nurse, recreation therapist, and rehabilitation counselor.
24 (b) For the purposes of establishing staffing ratios, every patient
25 within a facility operated under the jurisdiction of the office shall be
26 classified as a short stay, specialized care or extended care patient,
27 and assigned to a corresponding short stay unit, specialized care unit
28 or extended care unit. For the purposes of classification, the charac-
29 teristics of the patients needing the most intensive care shall be
30 utilized in determining the classification of the entire unit. Nothing
31 herein shall be construed to diminish or change the ability of the
32 office to determine appropriate treatment, diagnosis, admission proce-
33 dures or placement within a facility for any patients.
34 (c) 1. Any unit which is classified as a short stay unit or an
35 extended care unit shall maintain a staff to patient ratio of no less
36 than 1.2 to 1 for category one employees and a ratio of .4 to 1 for
37 category two employees and shall be limited to twenty-five patients.
38 2. Any unit which is classified as a specialized care unit shall main-
39 tain a staff to patient ratio of no less than 1.6 to 1 for category one
40 employees and a ratio of .6 to 1 for category two employees and shall be
41 limited to twenty patients.
42 3. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the office from rais-
43 ing the staffing levels due to the acuity level of each ward.
44 (d) The office shall, at least once every quarter, publish the staff-
45 ing ratios of each facility under its jurisdiction. Such publication
46 shall include the number of patients within each unit, the specific
47 classification of each patient, and the specific titles of direct care
48 staff assigned to such unit. Such publication shall also include a
49 comparison of the current staffing ratios to the previous quarter's
50 staffing ratios. The first such publication shall be submitted to the
51 governor and the chairpersons of the senate and assembly mental health
52 committees on or before January first, two thousand thirteen. Such
53 publications shall be submitted quarterly thereafter.
54 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
55 it shall have become a law.
