NY State Senate Bill 2009-S7194

Senate Bill S7194

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Requires a hospice intending to establish a hospice residence to provide notice to the municipality of the site selection and a description of the program

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 19, 2010	referred to health

2009-S7194 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1750
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Add §4014-a, Pub Health L

2009-S7194 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires a hospice intending to establish a hospice residence within a municipality to provide notification of the site selection and the description of the nature and size of the program to the municipality and commissioner of health; provides for public hearings.

2009-S7194 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7194

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to site selection
of a hospice residence


 PURPOSE :

To establish procedures for public notice and consideration of
potential sites for hospice residences.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Before the department may issue a certificate of operation to a
hospice for a hospice residence outside an established nursing home or
adult home, the hospice would be required to provide notice to the
municipality within whose jurisdiction the hospice residence would be
located. (In New York City, the community board would be treated as a
"municipality.") The notice to the municipality shall include the
location and plan details, and the municipality will have forty days
to respond. The municipality may approve the site, suggest alternative
sites, or object because of oversaturation which is defined as
relating to all types of residential facilities in balance to the need
f<:)r a hospice residence. No response by the municipality within

forty days is the same as approval.

Prior to the forty day response, the municipality may hold public
hearings.

If the hospice notifies the municipality's that a recommended
alternative site is not acceptable, the municipality shall have
fifteen days to make another recommendation. If that recommendation is
not acceptable to the hospice, or if the application for a site
approval is declined under the oversaturation test, then either the
hospice or the municipality may request a hearing before the
commissioner of health who will have thirty days to decide in favor of
either party. That decision can be appealed in an Article 78
proceeding before the appellate division.

 JUSTIFICATION :

A hospice residence is a group home where terminally ill patients
receive expert interdisciplinary care services from qualified
individuals in a home-like setting. Hospice residences caring for up
to eight persons have existed in New York since 1995. More recently, a
pilot program was created in 2003 for the purpose of demonstrating the
effectiveness of hospice residences caring for up to sixteen persons.
The value of hospice residences was cited in the memorandum for the
new pilot: "the residences have been able to provide a lower cost
alternative to patients...by eliminative the need for patient
transfers and thus, precluding costly hospital bills and ambulance
charges".

However, in the case of at least one hospice residence, the opposition
of neighbors has stalled construction of a residence for over four
years.

A framework is needed to give communities notice and an opportunity to
be heard, and to guide municipalities in assessing a community's need
for a hospice residence with fairness and timeliness, and to
facilitate the siting once that process has been complied with. This
bill is based upon the successful "Padavan's Law", section 41.34 of
the Mental Hygiene Law, which governs the site selection for community

residential facilities for the disabled, which has proven to be an
effective tool for this purpose since 1978.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2008: A.11241 - Passed Assembly

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2009-S7194 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7194

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 19, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  DUANE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to site selection  of
  a hospice residence

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
4014-a to read as follows:
  S  4014-A. HOSPICE RESIDENCES; SITE SELECTION.  1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF
THIS SECTION, "MUNICIPALITY" MEANS A VILLAGE; A TOWN,  WITH  RESPECT  TO
ANY  LOCATION  THAT IS IN A TOWN BUT NOT IN A VILLAGE IN THAT TOWN; OR A
CITY, EXCEPT THAT IN THE CITY OF NEW  YORK,  THE  COMMUNITY  BOARD  WITH
JURISDICTION OVER A LOCATION SHALL BE CONSIDERED THE MUNICIPALITY.
  2.  IF  A  HOSPICE  INTENDS  TO ESTABLISH A HOSPICE RESIDENCE WITHIN A
MUNICIPALITY BUT DOES NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC SITE SELECTED, IT  MAY  NOTIFY
THE  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE COMMISSIONER IN
WRITING OF ITS INTENTIONS AND INCLUDE IN THE NOTICE A DESCRIPTION OF THE
NATURE AND SIZE OF THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE INTENDED NUMBER  OF  BEDS.
THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT PRECLUDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOSPICE RESI-
DENCE UNDER SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION.
  3.  (A) IF A HOSPICE INTENDS TO ESTABLISH A HOSPICE RESIDENCE WITHIN A
MUNICIPALITY AND HAS A SPECIFIC SITE SELECTED, IT SHALL NOTIFY THE CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE  COMMISSIONER  IN  WRITING
AND  INCLUDE  IN  THE NOTICE A DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURE AND SIZE OF THE
PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE ADDRESS OF THE SITE AND THE  INTENDED  NUMBER  OF
BEDS.  THE  MUNICIPALITY  SHALL HAVE FORTY DAYS AFTER THE RECEIPT OF THE
NOTICE TO:
  (I) APPROVE THE SITE SELECTED BY THE HOSPICE;
  (II) SUGGEST ONE OR MORE ALTERNATIVE SUITABLE SITES WITHIN ITS  JURIS-
DICTION WHICH COULD ACCOMMODATE SUCH A FACILITY AND ARE PREFERRED BY THE
MUNICIPALITY; OR
  (III)  OBJECT TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOSPICE RESIDENCE BECAUSE SUCH
ESTABLISHMENT MAY RESULT IN THE OVERSATURATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY  WITH
RESIDENTIAL  FACILITIES  LICENSED  OR OPERATED BY STATE OR LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT, INCLUDING  COMMUNITY  RESIDENCES,  INTERMEDIATE  CARE  FACILITIES,
RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES FOR ADULTS AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILI-
TIES  FOR  INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01119-01-9

S. 7194                             2

AND ALL SIMILAR RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES, NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  UNIQUENESS
OF  BOTH  THE POPULATION SERVED AND THE SERVICES PROVIDED AT THE HOSPICE
RESIDENCE AND THE NEED FOR THE HOSPICE RESIDENCE IN THE MUNICIPALITY.
  (B)  THE  MUNICIPALITY  SHALL SEND WRITTEN NOTICE OF ITS DETERMINATION
UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION TO THE HOSPICE AND  THE  COMMIS-
SIONER.    IF  THE MUNICIPALITY DOES NOT MAKE A DETERMINATION WITHIN THE
FORTY DAYS, THE PROPOSED HOSPICE RESIDENCE SHALL BE DEEMED  APPROVED  BY
THE MUNICIPALITY FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION.
  (C) PRIOR TO MAKING A DETERMINATION UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION, THE MUNICIPALITY MAY HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING.
  (D) (I) IF THE MUNICIPALITY APPROVES THE SITE PROPOSED BY THE HOSPICE,
THE  HOSPICE  MAY,  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, ESTABLISH THE PROPOSED
HOSPICE RESIDENCE AT THE SITE.
  (II) IF AN ALTERNATIVE SITE OR SITES SUGGESTED BY THE MUNICIPALITY ARE
ACCEPTABLE TO THE  HOSPICE,  THE  HOSPICE  MAY,  FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS
SECTION, ESTABLISH THE PROPOSED HOSPICE RESIDENCE AT ONE OF THE ALTERNA-
TIVE SITES.
  (III)  IF  NONE OF THE ALTERNATIVE SITES SUGGESTED BY THE MUNICIPALITY
IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE HOSPICE, THE HOSPICE  MAY  SO  NOTIFY  THE  MUNICI-
PALITY,  WHICH  SHALL  HAVE  FIFTEEN DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE TO
SUGGEST AN ALTERNATIVE SITE OR SITES FOR THE PROPOSED HOSPICE RESIDENCE.
  (IV) IF THE MUNICIPALITY OBJECTS TO ESTABLISHMENT OF A  HOSPICE  RESI-
DENCE  IN  THE MUNICIPALITY UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (III) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF
THIS SUBDIVISION, OR THE HOSPICE DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY SITE  SUGGESTED  BY
THE MUNICIPALITY, AND THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE HOSPICE CANNOT AGREE ON A
SITE, THEN EITHER THE HOSPICE OR THE MUNICIPALITY MAY REQUEST AN IMMEDI-
ATE  HEARING  BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER OR THE COMMISSIONER'S DESIGNEE. IN
REVIEWING ANY SUCH OBJECTIONS, THE NEED FOR A HOSPICE RESIDENCE  IN  THE
MUNICIPALITY  SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS SHALL THE EXISTING CONCENTRATION OF
RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES AND OTHER SIMILAR FACILITIES  LICENSED  BY  OTHER
STATE  AGENCIES  IN  THE MUNICIPALITY OR IN THE AREA IN PROXIMITY TO THE
SITE SELECTED AND ANY OTHER FACILITIES IN THE  MUNICIPALITY  OR  IN  THE
AREA  IN PROXIMITY TO THE SITE SELECTED.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SUSTAIN
THE OBJECTION IF HE OR SHE DETERMINES THAT THE NATURE AND  CHARACTER  OF
THE  AREA  IN  WHICH  THE  FACILITY  IS TO BE BASED MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY
ALTERED AS A RESULT  OF  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  HOSPICE  RESIDENCE,  OR
APPROVE  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  PROPOSED HOSPICE RESIDENCE FOR THE
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  MAKE  A  DETERMINATION
WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE HEARING.
  4.  A  DECISION BY THE COMMISSIONER UNDER THIS SECTION MAY BE REVIEWED
IN A PROCEEDING PURSUANT TO ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF THE CIVIL  PRACTICE
LAW AND RULES.
  5.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  NOT  ISSUE  AN  OPERATING CERTIFICATE TO A
HOSPICE FOR OPERATION OF A HOSPICE RESIDENCE IF  THE  HOSPICE  DOES  NOT
NOTIFY  THE MUNICIPALITY OF ITS INTENTION TO ESTABLISH THE HOSPICE RESI-
DENCE AS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS  SECTION.  ANY  OPERATING
CERTIFICATE ISSUED WITHOUT COMPLIANCE WITH THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSID-
ERED  NULL  AND  VOID  AND  CONTINUED  OPERATION  OF THE FACILITY MAY BE
ENJOINED.
  6. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  HOSPICE
RESIDENCE  WITHIN AN ESTABLISHED FACILITY SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A
NURSING HOME OR ADULT HOME.
  7. A HOSPICE RESIDENCE APPROVED FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION SHALL  BE
DEEMED A FAMILY UNIT, FOR THE PURPOSES OF LOCAL LAWS AND ORDINANCES.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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