Bill Text: NY A11101 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to providing for nursing home residents to designate an essential person who would be permitted to be present and provide aid to a resident at a nursing home with unrestricted access; provides for regular testing of essential persons during COVID-19.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-11-06 - referred to health [A11101 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A11101-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          11101

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    November 6, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at  request  of M. of A. Kim,
          M. L. Miller) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to  providing  for
          nursing  home  residents to designate an essential person who would be
          permitted to be present  at the nursing home with unrestricted  access
          and  provide  aid  to  such  resident; to provide for regular COVID-19
          testing for such essential persons for the duration  of  the  COVID-19
          state  disaster  emergency;  and  providing  for the repeal of certain
          provisions of such law relating thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Section 2801 of the public health law is amended by adding
     2  a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
     3    12. "Essential person" shall mean a family member, attorney in fact or
     4  health care proxy who, prior to and after the  COVID-19  state  disaster
     5  emergency  declared  pursuant  to executive order two hundred two of two
     6  thousand twenty, was or regularly is present at a nursing home three  or
     7  more  days  per  week providing assistance to a resident of such nursing
     8  home. Such assistance shall include, but not be limited  to,  help  with
     9  feeding, hygiene, mobility, dressing, emotional support and medication.
    10    §  2.  Subdivision  3  of  section  2803-c of the public health law is
    11  amended by adding a new paragraph r to read as follows:
    12    r. Every patient shall have the right to designate one  individual  as
    13  an  essential person. Such essential person shall act as an advocate for
    14  the resident, whose duties include, but are not be limited to,  communi-
    15  cating  with  nursing  home  staff regarding the needs of such resident,
    16  reporting any suspected abuse or neglect on behalf of such  resident  or
    17  requesting  additional  care  or  a  change  in the current care plan if
    18  necessary.
    19    § 3. Section 2803-c of the public health law is amended  by  adding  a
    20  new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    21    6.  a.  Any  individual  designated as an essential person pursuant to
    22  this section shall be permitted unrestricted access  and  visitation  to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD17174-02-0

        A. 11101                            2

     1  the resident at the nursing home in which such resident resides in order
     2  to provide the necessary aid described pursuant to this section.
     3    b.  Throughout  the  duration of the COVID-19 state disaster emergency
     4  declared pursuant to executive order two hundred  two  of  two  thousand
     5  twenty,  each  nursing  home  shall  require  and  provide for essential
     6  persons to be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis, and each  essential
     7  person  shall be required to wear adequate personal protective equipment
     8  (PPE) at all times while on the premises of such facility. If an  essen-
     9  tial person should test positive for COVID-19, he or she shall be denied
    10  access  to  the  nursing home for a period of fourteen days and shall be
    11  required to self-quarantine during such period.  At  the  conclusion  of
    12  such  fourteen-day  period,  such essential person shall be permitted to
    13  return to the nursing home so long as he or she has no symptoms  of  and
    14  produces a negative test result for COVID-19.
    15    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
    16  paragraph b of subdivision 6 of section 2803-c of the public health  law
    17  as  added  by  section  three  of  this  act  shall expire and be deemed
    18  repealed on the same date the COVID-19 state disaster emergency declared
    19  pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020 has been lifted.
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