NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4828

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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to health
Feb 16, 2021	referred to health

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 30-E §§3090 - 3092, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S8996

2021-S4828 (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.

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4828

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 appropriately prepared for public health emergen-
cies.

 
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 organizations representing
hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities and assisted living

residences, shall develop a plan to establish regional step-down facili-
ties to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 or any other sick-
ness related to a pandemic.  These facilities shall serve as a transi-
tion for individuals 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 as expeditiously as
possible. 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 approximately 15,000 nursing home deaths
linked to COVID19, although there has been controversy over the exact
total as New York State, contrary to the practices of other states with
major COVID-19 outbreaks, only counted residents who died in the facili-
ties 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 hospi-
tal 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:

2020: S.8996 Referred to Rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4828
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 16, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SERINO -- 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 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.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD06317-02-1

 S. 4828                             2
 
   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.
   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 AS EXPEDITIOUSLY  AS
 POSSIBLE.
   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 AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE.
   §  2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S4828

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Susan Serino

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4828 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments