NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8996

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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
Sep 23, 2020	referred to rules

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A11095
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 30-E §§3090 - 3092, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S4828, A3839

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the health department to submit a plan to establish regional step-down facilities to temporarily care for individuals who have been discharged from a hospital after receiving treatment for COVID-19, or any other sickness related to a pandemic, to a nursing home, adult care facility or assisted living residence where such individual resides until it is safe for them to return.

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8996

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the emergency or
disaster treatment preparedness act

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure New York is prepared for a potential second wave of COVID-19
or another pandemic.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Creates a new Article 30-E of the Public Health Law, the
Emergency or disaster Treatment Preparedness Act.

Defines hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, assisted living
residences and step-down facilities for the purposes of this act.

Provides that the Department of Health, in consultation with organiza-
tions representing hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities and
assisted living residences, shall develop a plan to establish regional
step-down facilities in the event of a second wave of COVID-19 or anoth-
er pandemic. These facilities shall serve as a transition for individ-
uals returning to nursing homes, adult care facilities or assisted
living residences, in particular after having been discharged from a
hospital after receiving treatment for COVID-19 or another sickness
related to a pandemic.

Requires the Health Commissioner to submit such plan to the governor and
legislative leaders of the Senate and Assembly by no later than October
15, 2020. The commissioner shall review and update the regional step-
down facility plan biennially, or more frequently if the commissioner
deems necessary, and the plan shall be posted publicly on the Department
of Health's website.

Section 2: Provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

While much was and still is unknown about the COVID-19 virus, one thing
that was well understood early on was how deadly the virus was for the
elderly and immunocompromised. However, despite this knowledge, on March
25th the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued guidance stat-
ing that "no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the
NH  
NURSING HOME solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of
COVID-19," and prohibited nursing homes from requiring hospitalized
residents to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or re-admission.
Many employees, residents, advocates and lawmakers sounded the alarm on
the risks of this policy, which was eventually revised, although not
before a devastating toll had been taken on our state's nursing homes.

To date, DOH has reported more than 6,600 nursing home deaths linked to
COVID-19, and many believe this to be a serious undercount as New York
State, contrary to the practices of other states with major COVID-19
outbreaks, only count residents who died in the facilities and excluded
those who contracted the virus in the facility but later died in the
hospital. Many within nursing homes have compared the spread of COVID-19
within the facility once it has entered to wildfire. This analogy is
particularly troubling given that more than 6,300 hospital patients were
released into nursing homes.

One of the biggest lessons learned from this crisis is that New York,
along with many other states and countries, was simply unprepared to
handle a pandemic of this magnitude. While concern that hospitals would
be overwhelmed at the height of the pandemic was justified, sending
COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes among our most vulnerable
population defied commonsense.

This legislation would ensure the state is not caught off-guard on this
issue again by requiring the New York State Department of Health to
establish a plan now to create regional step-down facilities to better
isolate those known to be COVID positive. These facilities would be
established to safely and temporarily care for individuals who have been
discharged from a hospital after receiving treatment for COVID-19 to a
nursing home, adult care facility, or assisted living residence, where
such individual would reside until they are no longer at risk for
infecting others.

New York has a duty to learn from errors of the past, ensure they are
not repeated, and establish a more effective plan for the future that
protects these residents and those who care for them.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8996
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                            September 23, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the  emergency  or
   disaster treatment preparedness act
 
   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  article
 30-E to read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 30-E
             EMERGENCY OR DISASTER TREATMENT PREPAREDNESS ACT
 SECTION 3090. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE.
         3091. DEFINITIONS.
         3092. REGIONAL STEP-DOWN FACILITY PLAN.
   §  3090.  DECLARATION  OF PURPOSE. GIVEN THE DEVASTATING TOLL COVID-19
 HAS TAKEN ON NEW YORK  STATE,  ESPECIALLY  IN  NURSING  HOMES,  ASSISTED
 LIVING  FACILITIES,  AND  ADULT  CARE  FACILITIES,  AND CONCERNS ABOUT A
 SECOND WAVE OF THE VIRUS, OR OF FUTURE PANDEMICS, IT IS  ESSENTIAL  THAT
 THE  STATE  IS  BETTER  PREPARED  TO  HANDLE  A FUTURE CRISIS. IT IS THE
 PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE TO ENSURE PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN TO  PREVENT  THE
 REPEATED  MISTAKE  OF  RETURNING  COVID-19  POSITIVE PATIENTS TO NURSING
 HOMES, ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES AND ADULT CARE  FACILITIES  WHERE  THE
 POPULATION IS COMPRISED OF HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS.
   § 3091. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE:
   1.  THE  TERM  "HOSPITAL"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SUCH TERM IS
 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE  OF  THIS
 CHAPTER AND SHALL INCLUDE ANY TEMPORARY HEALTH CARE FACILITY ESTABLISHED
 BY  THE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
 OR ANY OTHER PANDEMIC RELATED RESPONSE.
   2. THE TERM "NURSING HOME" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SUCH TERM IS
 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE  OF  THIS
 CHAPTER.
   3.  THE TERM "ADULT CARE FACILITY" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SUCH
 TERM IS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWENTY-ONE OF SECTION TWO OF  THE  SOCIAL
 SERVICES LAW.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17342-01-0

 S. 8996                             2
 
   4. THE TERM "ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS
 SUCH  TERM  IS  DEFINED  IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION FORTY-SIX HUNDRED
 FIFTY-ONE OF ARTICLE FORTY-SIX-B OF THIS CHAPTER.
   5.  THE  TERM  "STEP-DOWN FACILITY" SHALL MEAN A FACILITY SPECIFICALLY
 ESTABLISHED TO TEMPORARILY CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED
 FROM A HOSPITAL AFTER RECEIVING TREATMENT FOR  COVID-19,  OR  ANY  OTHER
 SICKNESS  RELATED  TO A PANDEMIC, TO A NURSING HOME, ADULT CARE FACILITY
 OR ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE WHERE SUCH INDIVIDUAL RESIDES UNTIL  IT  IS
 SAFE  FOR  THEM  TO  RETURN, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF
 COVID-19 OR ANY OTHER SICKNESS RELATED TO A PANDEMIC.  STEP-DOWN FACILI-
 TIES MAY ALSO ADMIT INDIVIDUALS FROM A NURSING HOME, ADULT CARE FACILITY
 OR ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR  COVID-19,  OR
 ANY  OTHER  SICKNESS RELATED TO A PANDEMIC, OR ARE SUSPECTED TO BE POSI-
 TIVE FOR SUCH, WHO DID NOT RECEIVE TREATMENT OR WHO WERE  OTHERWISE  NOT
 ADMITTED AND SUBSEQUENTLY DISCHARGED FROM A HOSPITAL.
   §  3092.  REGIONAL  STEP-DOWN  FACILITY  PLAN.  1.  THE DEPARTMENT, IN
 CONSULTATION WITH ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING  HOSPITALS, NURSING  HOMES,
 ADULT  CARE  FACILITIES  AND ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCES, SHALL DEVELOP A
 PLAN TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL STEP-DOWN FACILITIES TO REDUCE  THE  RISK  OF
 TRANSMISSION  OF  COVID-19  OR  ANY OTHER SICKNESS RELATED TO A PANDEMIC
 WITHIN NURSING HOMES, ADULT CARE FACILITIES  OR  ASSISTED  LIVING  RESI-
 DENCES,  PARTICULARLY AFTER AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS RECEIVED TREATMENT FOR
 COVID-19 OR ANY OTHER SICKNESS RELATED TO A PANDEMIC HAS BEEN DISCHARGED
 FROM A HOSPITAL AND WOULD OTHERWISE RETURN TO A NURSING HOME, ADULT CARE
 FACILITY OR ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE WHILE STILL CONTAGIOUS. SUCH  PLAN
 WILL  ACCOUNT  FOR A POSSIBLE RESURGENCE OF THE COVID-19 INFECTION RATE,
 OR THE EMERGENCE OF ANY OTHER SICKNESS RELATED TO A PANDEMIC.
   2. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SUBMIT SUCH PLAN TO THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPO-
 RARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE  MINORITY
 LEADER OF THE SENATE, AND THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY, AND SHALL
 POST  SUCH PLAN PUBLICLY ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE NO LATER THAN OCTO-
 BER FIFTEENTH, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY.
   3. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL REVIEW AND  UPDATE  THE  REGIONAL  STEP-DOWN
 FACILITY  PLAN BIENNIALLY, OR MORE FREQUENTLY IF THE COMMISSIONER DETER-
 MINES IT NECESSARY, AND SHALL POST SUCH UPDATED  PLAN  PUBLICLY  ON  THE
 DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE NO LATER THAN OCTOBER FIFTEENTH OF SUCH YEAR.
   §  2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S8996

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8996

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Susan Serino

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S8996 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments