Bill Text: NY S02553 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the health care worker peer support program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S02553 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S02553-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2553

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 21, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  JORDAN,  BORRELLO, HELMING, ORTT, TEDISCO -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee on Finance

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  mental hygiene law, in relation to enacting the
          health care worker peer support program; and making  an  appropriation
          therefor

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

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as  the  "health
     2  care worker peer support program".
     3    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 7.49 to
     4  read as follows:
     5  § 7.49 Health care worker peer support program.
     6    (a)  For  the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have
     7  the following meanings:
     8    (1) "Program" shall mean the "health care worker peer support program"
     9  established by this section.
    10    (2) "Eligible entities" shall mean an  entity  which  submits  to  the
    11  commissioner  an  application, in a form prescribed by the commissioner,
    12  containing such information  and  assurances  as  the  commissioner  may
    13  require  to  provide  initial  and continued training in mental illness,
    14  including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder and  suicide
    15  prevention, for health care worker volunteers.
    16    (b)  The  commissioner  shall establish a grant program to be known as
    17  the "health care  worker  peer  support  program".  Such  program  shall
    18  provide grants, within appropriations therefor, to eligible entities for
    19  the  purpose  of  establishing  peer-to-peer  mental health programs for
    20  health care workers.
    21    (c) The commissioner shall  establish  standards  applicable  to  such
    22  program. Such standards shall include initial and continued training for
    23  health  care  worker peer volunteers, administrative staffing needs, and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00884-01-1
        S. 2553                             2

     1  best practices for addressing the  needs  of  each  health  care  worker
     2  served.
     3    (d) Grants may be awarded by the commissioner to an eligible entity in
     4  an amount that does not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
     5    (e)  The  commissioner  shall  not  require the recipient of any grant
     6  under this section to maintain records on health  care  workers  seeking
     7  support or report any personal identifying information directly or indi-
     8  rectly to the commissioner.
     9    §  3. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much thereof
    10  as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated  to  the  office  of  mental
    11  health  out  of  any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to
    12  the credit of the state purposes account,  not  otherwise  appropriated,
    13  and  made  immediately  available,  for  the purpose of carrying out the
    14  provisions of this act.
    15    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.