Outlines requirements for reporting COVID-19, communicable diseases and deaths due to such communicable diseases for the commissioner of health, state institutions, and hospitals.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6610
SPONSOR: Bichotte Hermelyn TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to reporting COVID-
19, communicable diseases and deaths caused by such communicable
diseases
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to outline the requirements for reporting
COVID19 confirmed and presumed positive cases of residents who were
transferred from a nursing home or adult care facility, to the commis-
sioner of health, state institutions, and hospitals.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 206 of the public health law is
amended by adding two new paragraphs (e-1) and (e-2) to read as follows:
(e-1) ensure that the department updates its regular reporting of "Nurs-
ing Home and Adult Care Facility COVID Related Deaths Statewide" to
include those COVID-19 confirmed and presumed positive cases of resi-
dents who were transferred from a nursing home or adult care facility to
a hospital and died in the hospital retrospective to March first, two
thousand twenty
(e-2) share aggregate reports of information collected under the depart-
ment's emergency survey system known as the Health Emergency Response
Data System (HERDS), or its successor, with the entities completing and
submitting the HERDS surveys
§ 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2101-a
3. Section 4140 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 4
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill will ensure that the department regularly updates the report-
ing of "Nursing Home and Adult Care Facility COVID Related Deaths State-
wide" to provide public transparency. The proposed amendments to the
public health law, would collect and publicly post on the department's
website no less frequently than once per week during a declared public
health emergency. This will provide the public with up-to-date data on
nursing homes and adult care fatalities.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be Determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6610
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to reporting COVID-
19, communicable diseases and deaths caused by such communicable
diseases
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 206 of the public health law is
2 amended by adding two new paragraphs (e-1) and (e-2) to read as follows:
3 (e-1) ensure that the department updates its regular reporting of
4 "Nursing Home and Adult Care Facility COVID Related Deaths Statewide" to
5 include those COVID-19 confirmed and presumed positive cases of resi-
6 dents who were transferred from a nursing home or adult care facility to
7 a hospital and died in the hospital retrospective to March first, two
8 thousand twenty. Such update shall occur and be publicly posted within
9 thirty days of the effective date of this subdivision;
10 (e-2) share aggregate reports of information collected under the
11 department's emergency survey system known as the Health Emergency
12 Response Data System (HERDS), or its successor, with the entities
13 completing and submitting the HERDS surveys, in order to support such
14 entities' situational awareness and emergency response needs as dictated
15 by the nature of the emergency; such reports shall be shared with
16 surveyed entities as soon as practicable after the HERDS collection, and
17 shall be in a form and interval appropriate to the collection frequency
18 and circumstances of the emergency; for surveys of duration less than
19 one week, reports shall be shared as soon as practicable, but not later
20 than one week after final collection; for surveys of duration more than
21 one week, such reports shall be shared no less frequently than weekly
22 during the survey period. Information from such reports may be made
23 public by the department and shall be used to ensure the department's
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07694-03-1
A. 6610 2
1 public reports required pursuant to sections twenty-one hundred one-a
2 and forty-one hundred forty of this chapter are accurate and timely;
3 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2101-a
4 to read as follows:
5 § 2101-a. Communicable diseases; duty to report; transfer of individ-
6 uals. 1. When a communicable disease is reported by a person in charge
7 of a state institution, pursuant to section two thousand one hundred
8 five of this title, or a facility licensed under article twenty-eight of
9 this chapter, pursuant to the provisions of section two thousand one
10 hundred one of this title, the report shall include whether the individ-
11 ual was transferred from another institution or facility, including an
12 adult care facility, and identify the facility. The report shall also
13 include whether the individual works in a health care facility and iden-
14 tify the facility.
15 2. During a declared public health emergency, information collected by
16 the state and local health districts on cases of a communicable disease
17 associated with a declared public health emergency shall be maintained
18 and updated on the department's website no less frequently than once per
19 week to identify the number of cases of residents and staff at partic-
20 ular nursing homes and adult care facilities, together with information
21 on deaths of residents as required by section forty-one hundred forty of
22 this chapter.
23 § 3. Section 4140 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
24 subdivision 4 to read as follows:
25 4. Where the death is confirmed or presumed to have occurred from
26 COVID-19, and the individual resided in a nursing home or adult care
27 facility at or immediately prior to such death, the commissioner and the
28 department of health of the city of New York and registrar of the
29 district in which the death occurred shall, in addition to maintaining
30 deaths by district, record such death as that of a nursing home or adult
31 care facility resident even if the individual did not die in such facil-
32 ity. During a declared public health emergency, such information shall
33 be maintained and updated on the department's website no less frequently
34 than once per week, together with information on cases of the communica-
35 ble disease associated with the public health emergency of residents and
36 staff as required by section twenty-one hundred one-a of this chapter.
37 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
