NY State Senate Bill 2019-S9026

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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Oct 05, 2020	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Elder Law
Laws Affected:: Add §218-a, Eld L; amd §§2803 & 2803-c, add §2803-c-1, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S612

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the office of the state long-term care ombudsman to provide opportunities for volunteers to work as resident advocates within the long-term care ombudsman program (Part A); directs the commissioner of health, in consultation with the state long-term care ombudsman, to establish policies and procedures for reporting, by staff and volunteers of the long-term care ombudsman program, issues concerning the health and safety of residents at nursing homes and residential health care facilities (Part B); includes access to state long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers within the pandemic emergency plan prepared by residential health care facilities (Part C); requires translations of a patient's rights into the six most common non-English languages of New York State (Part D)

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S9026

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the elder law, in relation to directing the office of
the state long-term care ombudsman to provide opportunities for volun-
teers to work as resident advocates within the long-term care ombudsman
program (Part A); to amend the public health  law, in relation to
directing the commissioner  of  health,  in consultation with  the
state   long-term   care ombudsman, to establish policies and procedures
for  reporting, by staff and volunteers of the long-term care ombudsman
program, issues concerning the health and safety  of  residents at
nursing  homes  and  residential health care facilities (Part B); to
amend the public health law, in relation to including access to state
long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers within the pandem-
ic emergency plan prepared by residential health care facilities (Part
C); to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring trans-
lations of a patient's rights (Part D); and to amend the public health
law, in relation to the posting of information relating to the long-term
care ombudsman program (Part E)

PURPOSE:

This bill enacts a series of reforms to the State Long-Term Care Ombuds-
man program and related programs to increase accessibility for residents
of nursing home and residential care facilities.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Short title, sets name of the bill as the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program Reform Act.

Section 2: Legislative intent.  Part A: Adds a new section 218-a to the
elder law. This section directs the office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman program to provide opportunities for volunteers to work as
resident advocates within the program and to develop a program to adver-
tise and promote awareness of the resident advocates program. This part
is effective 90 days after becoming law.

Part B: Adds a new subdivision 13 to section 2803 of the public health
law. This part requires the department of health to establish policies
and procedures allowing for staff and volunteers of the ombudsman
program to report issues directly to the department of health. These
procedures will involve establishing a hotline and portion of the
department's website specifically for use by ombudsman staff and volun-
teers. It also requires the department to develop rules establishing
standards for timely and regular communications to the ombudsman program
and staff regarding issues reported by staff and volunteers, and to
notify ombudsman staff and volunteers when inspections are being
conducted at or complaints are received at their assigned facilities.
This part is effective 90 days after becoming law.

Part C: Amends subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 of
section 2803 of the public health law. This adds a plan to facilitate
access to state long-term care ombudsman staff and volunteers within a
facility's pandemic preparedness plan. This part is effective immediate-
ly.

Part D: Amends section 2803-c of the public health law by adding a new
subdivision 6. This section requires the department of health to trans-
late the nursing home residents' bill of rights into the six most common
non-English languages spoken in New York State. Each facility will post
and make available such translation to residents.  This part is effec-
tive immediately.

Part E: Adds a new section 2803-c-1 to the public health law. This
section requires that facilities in the state prominently post in each
resident's room the contact information for the state and regional
offices of the long-term care ombudsman program, as well as contact
information for the facility representative. They shall also provide
updated such contact information to all residents and their families
twice a year. This part is effective 120 days after becoming law.

Section 3: Severability clause.

Section 4: Sets effective date, provided that applicable effective dates
of Parts A through E are specifically set within the respective parts.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State's Long-term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) was estab-
lished more than four decades ago as part of the federal Older Americans
Act. Its purpose, in the state program's own words, is to advocate "for
residents by investigating and resolving complaints made by or on behalf
of residents; promoting the development of resident and family councils;
and informing government agencies, providers, and the general public
about issues and concerns impacting residents of long-term care facili-
ties." The effectiveness of the program, however, relies on an assump-
tion that residents and families know of the program and its services
and on the existence of effective two-way channels of communication
between LTCOP staff and volunteers and the Department of Health, to
which complaints are funneled for investigation and resolution. Signif-
icant evidence and testimonials from family members and ombuds volun-
teers indicate that neither of these assumptions are being met.

This bill calls for specific measures to better inform families and
nursing home residents of the existence of the LTCOP by requiring that
informational fliers be posted in each resident's rooms.  Currently,
such information is most commonly posted in a single common area, such
as an elevator lobby, and possibly included in a packet of information
for families at the time of admission.  Nevertheless, time and again, we
have heard that family members were unaware they had access to an
ombudsman to address issues or concerns relating to a loved one's care.
We have heard from family councils that wondered why the information
could not be posted in individual rooms rather than distributed in a
packet of material that is rarely at hand or recalled if/when issues
about care arise down the road.

The bill also would assure the program information is available in other
languages, and it would replace the name "volunteer ombudsmen" with
"resident advocates" to better reflect for families the role and intent
of the ombudsman service. Finally, the bill calls for enhanced two-way
communication between the Department of Health and LTCOP.  This measure
would address concerns that LTCOP volunteers and staff are often kept in
the dark about the status of complaints or required corrective actions
in response to those complaints. This communications gap seriously
undercuts morale and compromises the perceived effectiveness of volun-
teers diligently working to be responsive to family and resident
concerns. It also has been cited as a likely contributing factor in why
the state program-which is heavily reliant on volunteers-has such diffi-
culty retaining adequate numbers of such volunteers to satisfy required
visitation benchmarks, as revealed by a state comptroller report in fall
2019.

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

To be determined.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9026
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              October 5, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MAY,  RIVERA,  SKOUFIS  -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to directing  the  office  of
   the state long-term care ombudsman to provide opportunities for volun-
   teers  to work as resident advocates within the long-term care ombuds-
   man program (Part A); to amend the public health  law, in relation  to
   directing  the commissioner   of   health,   in consultation with  the
   state   long-term   care ombudsman, to establish policies  and  proce-
   dures   for   reporting, by staff and volunteers of the long-term care
   ombudsman program, issues concerning the health and safety  of   resi-
   dents  at   nursing   homes   and   residential health care facilities
   (Part B); to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to  including
   access  to state long-term care ombudsman program staff and volunteers
   within the pandemic emergency plan prepared by residential health care
   facilities (Part C); to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to
   requiring  translations  of  a patient's rights (Part D); and to amend
   the public health law, in  relation  to  the  posting  of  information
   relating to the long-term care ombudsman program (Part E)
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "long-term care ombudsman program reform act".
   § 2. Legislative intent. This act enacts into law legislation relating
 to  the  long-term  care  ombudsman  program.  Each  component is wholly
 contained within a Part identified as Parts A through E.  The  effective
 date  for  each  particular  provision contained within such Part is set
 forth in the last section of such Part. Any  provision  in  any  section
 contained within a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which
 makes  a  reference  to a section "of this act", when used in connection
 with that particular component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the
 corresponding section of the Part in which it is found. Section four  of
 this act sets forth the general effective date of this act.
 
                                  PART A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17251-03-0

 S. 9026                             2
 
   Section  1.  The elder law is amended by adding a new section 218-a to
 read as follows:
   §  218-A.  VOLUNTEER  RESIDENT  ADVOCATES.  1. THE OFFICE OF THE STATE
 LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND  DIRECTED  TO  PROVIDE
 OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  VOLUNTEERS  TO WORK AS RESIDENT ADVOCATES WITHIN THE
 LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM. SUCH OFFICE SHALL  PROVIDE  THAT  SUCH
 RESIDENT  ADVOCATES  HAVE  THE SAME RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS LONG-
 TERM CARE OMBUDSMEN AS SET FORTH IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN OF THIS
 TITLE.
   2. THE OFFICE OF THE STATE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN  SHALL  FACILITATE
 AND COORDINATE THE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROGRAM TO ADVERTISE
 AND  PROMOTE  AWARENESS  OF  VOLUNTEER  RESIDENT ADVOCATES. SUCH PROGRAM
 SHALL UTILIZE  PROMOTIONAL  MATERIALS,  MEDIA  ADVERTISING,  BILLBOARDS,
 SOCIAL  MEDIA  AND  THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN
 PROGRAM.
   3. THE OFFICE OF THE STATE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN IS HEREBY  AUTHOR-
 IZED  AND  DIRECTED  TO  PROMOTE RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE
 IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.
 
                                  PART B
 
   Section  1. Section 2803 of the public health law is amended by adding
 a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
   13. (A) THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  STATE  LONG-TERM
 CARE  OMBUDSMAN,  SHALL  PROMULGATE  RULES  AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING
 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING TO THE DEPARTMENT,  BY  STAFF  AND
 VOLUNTEERS  OF  THE  LONG-TERM  CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM, ISSUES OBSERVED,
 DISCOVERED OR WITNESSED BY SUCH STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS  THAT  CONCERN  THE
 HEALTH  AND  SAFETY OF RESIDENTS AT NURSING HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL HEALTH
 CARE FACILITIES IN  THIS  STATE.  SUCH  POLICIES  AND  PROCEDURES  SHALL
 INCLUDE,  BUT  NOT  BE  LIMITED TO, ESTABLISHING A TELEPHONE HOTLINE AND
 REPORTING FORM ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE FOR  USE  BY  LONG-TERM  CARE
 OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS FOR THE SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.
   (B)  THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE LONG-TERM CARE
 OMBUDSMAN, SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING STANDARDS
 FOR TIMELY AND REGULAR COMMUNICATIONS BY THE  DEPARTMENT  TO  THE  STATE
 LONG-TERM  CARE OMBUDSMAN AND LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM STAFF AND
 VOLUNTEERS REGARDING ISSUES REPORTED BY SUCH STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS PURSU-
 ANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION  AND  THE  RESOLUTION  OF  SUCH
 ISSUES.
   (C)  THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE LONG-TERM CARE
 OMBUDSMAN, SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND  REGULATIONS  PROVIDING  THAT  THE
 DEPARTMENT  SHALL  NOTIFY OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, AT THE
 FACILITY WHERE SUCH STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE ASSIGNED, OF THE TIME  WHEN
 THE  DEPARTMENT  WILL  CONDUCT  INSPECTIONS  OF SUCH FACILITY, INCLUDING
 SURVEILLANCE OF SUCH FACILITY, AND TO NOTIFY OMBUDSMAN STAFF AND  VOLUN-
 TEERS  REGARDING  ANY  COMPLAINTS  RECEIVED BY THE DEPARTMENT CONCERNING
 SUCH FACILITY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of

 S. 9026                             3
 
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.
 
                                  PART C
 
   Section  1.  Subparagraph  (i)  of  paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 of
 section 2803 of the public health law is amended by adding a new  clause
 (C) to read as follows:
   (C) THAT INCLUDES A METHOD TO PROVIDE ALL RESIDENTS WITH ACCESS, AT NO
 COST,  TO  STATE  LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS,
 AND THAT PROVIDES STATE  LONG-TERM  CARE  OMBUDSMAN  PROGRAM  STAFF  AND
 VOLUNTEERS WITH ACCESS TO THE FACILITY; AND
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
                                  PART D
 
   Section  1.  Section  2803-c  of  the  public health law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   6. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL TRANSLATE AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO ALL FACILITIES
 THE STATEMENT IN THE SIX MOST COMMON  NON-ENGLISH  LANGUAGES  SPOKEN  BY
 INDIVIDUALS  WITH LIMITED-ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN NEW YORK STATE AS BASED
 ON THE MOST RECENT CENSUS. EACH FACILITY SHALL POST AND  MAKE  AVAILABLE
 COPIES OF SAID STATEMENT FOR RESIDENTS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
                                  PART E
 
   Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
 2803-c-1 to read as follows:
   § 2803-C-1. RIGHTS OF PATIENTS IN CERTAIN  MEDICAL  FACILITIES;  LONG-
 TERM  CARE  OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY
 NURSING HOME AND  RESIDENTIAL  HEALTH  CARE  FACILITY  PROVIDING  HEALTH
 RELATED  SERVICE, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISIONS TWO AND THREE AND PARAGRAPH
 (B) OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION  TWENTY-EIGHT  HUNDRED  ONE  OF  THIS
 ARTICLE,  PROMINENTLY  POST IN EACH RESIDENT'S ROOM, CONTACT INFORMATION
 FOR THE STATE AND REGIONAL OFFICES  OF  THE  LONG  TERM  CARE  OMBUDSMAN
 PROGRAM  AS  PROVIDED  FOR  IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN OF THE ELDER
 LAW, AS WELL AS CONTACT INFORMATION  FOR  THE  FACILITY  REPRESENTATIVE.
 SUCH  NURSING  HOMES  AND  RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES SHALL ALSO
 PROVIDE UPDATED CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE STATE AND  REGIONAL  OFFICES
 AND FACILITY REPRESENTATIVES TO ALL RESIDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES TWICE A
 YEAR.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.
   § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgement shall  not  affect,
 impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
 or  part  thereof  directly  involved  in  the controversy in which such
 judgement shall have been rendered. It is  hereby  declared  to  be  the
 intent  of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if
 such invalid provisions had not been included herein.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately  provided,  however,  that
 the  applicable effective date of Parts A through E of this act shall be
 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.

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Senate Bill S9026

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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co-Sponsors

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Gustavo Rivera

James Skoufis

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S9026 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments