Enacts the "New York Nursing Home Protection Act of 2020" which requires the commissioner of health to ensure all nursing home staff receives COVID-19 testing twice weekly and all residents shall receive such testing weekly; and the department of health shall provide sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff and residents.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8385
IN SENATE
May 21, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT requiring the commissioner of health to ensure all nursing home
residents and staff receive COVID-19 testing; and providing for the
repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and cited as the "New York Nursing
2 Home Protection Act of 2020".
3 § 2. The commissioner of health shall create and implement a program
4 to ensure that all staff of nursing homes throughout the state are test-
5 ed twice weekly for COVID-19. Residents shall be tested for COVID-19 on
6 a weekly basis. The department of health shall provide sufficient
7 personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff and residents and
8 provide for the cost of the testing.
9 § 3. For the purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the
10 following meanings:
11 (a) "nursing home" shall mean a place to live where care is available
12 for people of all ages, including children, who need twenty-four-hour
13 nursing care and supervision outside of a hospital. Such care shall
14 include basic care and specialized services;
15 (b) "nursing home resident" shall mean a person who resides in a nurs-
16 ing home; and
17 (c) "nursing home staff" shall mean a person who is employed by a
18 nursing home.
19 § 4. Necessary funding to implement the program established in section
20 one of this act shall come from existing resources, federal funds,
21 private sources, and appropriations from the general fund.
22 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the
23 provisions of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed upon the
24 expiration of the declared state of emergency relating to the novel
25 coronavirus (COVID-19); and provided, further, that the superintendent
26 of financial services shall notify the legislative bill drafting commis-
27 sion upon the occurrence of the expiration of the state disaster emer-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16383-03-0
S. 8385 2
1 gency declared by executive order number 202 and any further amendments
2 or modifications, and as may be further extended pursuant to section 28
3 of the executive law, in order that the commission may maintain an accu-
4 rate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of
5 the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of
6 section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
7 cers law.
