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S03879 Summary:

BILL NOS03879
 
SAME ASSAME AS A01070
 
SPONSORGRIFFO
 
COSPNSRBORRELLO, MARTUCCI, WEIK
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §2801-h, Pub Health L
 
Provides a patient of a residential health care facility essential caregiver visitation during COVID-19 to provide essential care to such patient.
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S03879 Actions:

BILL NOS03879
 
02/01/2021REFERRED TO HEALTH
01/05/2022REFERRED TO HEALTH
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S03879 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          3879
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. GRIFFO, BORRELLO -- 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  providing  a
          patient  of  a  residential  health  care facility essential caregiver
          visitation during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  2801-h to read as follows:
     3    § 2801-h. Essential  caregiver  visitation  during  COVID-19.  1.  The
     4  following  words  or  phrases,  as  used in this section, shall have the
     5  following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
     6    (a) "Resident" shall mean a patient residing at a  residential  health
     7  care facility.
     8    (b)  "Essential  caregiver"  shall  mean  an individual or individuals
     9  designated by a resident as their primary caregiver to aid  and  provide
    10  care for such resident.
    11    (c)  "Primary  caregiver"  shall mean an individual or individuals who
    12  regularly visited, prior to COVID-19, a resident to aid and provide care
    13  to such resident.
    14    (d) "Regularly visit" shall mean  an  individual  or  individuals  who
    15  visits  a  resident of residential health care facility at least twice a
    16  week. If more than one individual is providing aid and care to  a  resi-
    17  dent, such visitation days may be split among the individuals.
    18    (e)  "The  novel  coronavirus  pandemic (COVID-19)" shall refer to the
    19  period of the state of emergency declared by executive order two hundred
    20  two on March seventh, two thousand twenty in response to the outbreak of
    21  the novel coronavirus.
    22    (f) "Phase zero" shall mean a residential health care facility with  a
    23  currently active outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02245-01-1

        S. 3879                             2
 
     1    (g)  "Phase  one"  shall  mean  a residential health care facility who
     2  never had an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has  concluded  an
     3  outbreak  of  the  novel coronavirus and fourteen days have passed since
     4  the region such facility is located has moved into phase one of  reopen-
     5  ing  pursuant to the New York forward initiative as a response to COVID-
     6  19.
     7    (h) "Phase two" shall mean a  residential  health  care  facility  who
     8  never  had  an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has concluded an
     9  outbreak of the novel coronavirus and fourteen days  have  passed  since
    10  the  region such facility is located has moved into phase two of reopen-
    11  ing pursuant to the New York forward initiative as a response to  COVID-
    12  19.
    13    (i)  "Phase  three"  shall mean a residential health care facility who
    14  never had an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has  concluded  an
    15  outbreak  of  the  novel coronavirus and fourteen days have passed since
    16  the region such facility is  located  has  moved  into  phase  three  of
    17  reopening  pursuant  to the New York forward initiative as a response to
    18  COVID-19.
    19    2. A  resident  may  receive  essential  caregiver  visitation  during
    20  COVID-19, unless such resident:
    21    (i)  is  in  a fourteen-day quarantine period for testing positive for
    22  the novel coronavirus and has not yet met the criteria for  the  discon-
    23  tinuation of the isolation; or
    24    (ii)  the  resident  is symptomatic with symptoms related to the novel
    25  coronavirus.
    26    3. Visitation by an  essential  caregiver  during  COVID-19  shall  be
    27  utilized  to provide a resident with care in the same manner as prior to
    28  COVID-19. Such care shall include, but not be  limited  to  assisting  a
    29  resident  with  feeding, hygiene, mobility, dressing, emotional support,
    30  medication, communicating with  the  residential  health  care  facility
    31  staff  regarding  the  needs  of  such resident, reporting any suspected
    32  abuse or neglect on behalf of such  resident  or  requesting  additional
    33  care or a change in the current care plan if necessary.
    34    4.  The  residential health care facility's administrative director in
    35  consultation with the director of nursing, director of  social  services
    36  and  any  other  necessary  facility  staff,  shall develop policies and
    37  establish procedures for how to designate and utilize essential caregiv-
    38  ers during COVID-19.
    39    5. A resident shall consult with the necessary residential health care
    40  facility staff to determine and designate a primary caregiver to be such
    41  resident's essential  caregiver.  Such  determination  shall  take  into
    42  consideration:
    43    (a) who the resident desires as a primary caregiver;
    44    (b) the resident's unique situation; and
    45    (c)  the past involvement of the potential primary caregiver with such
    46  resident.
    47    6. The residential health care facility shall work with  a  designated
    48  essential caregiver to establish a schedule to accommodate the essential
    49  caregiver's  schedule  and meet the needs of the resident. Such schedule
    50  shall take into consideration the number of essential caregivers in  the
    51  residential  health  care  facility at the same time and which phase the
    52  residential health care facility has obtained. A residential health care
    53  facility in phase zero shall allow an essential  caregiver  to  schedule
    54  one  visit per week not to exceed a total of two hours per week. A resi-
    55  dential health care facility in phase one or phase two  shall  allow  an
    56  essential  caregiver to schedule up to two visits per week not to exceed

        S. 3879                             3
 
     1  a total of four hours per week. A residential health  care  facility  in
     2  phase  three shall allow scheduling of an essential caregiver under such
     3  facilities regular procedures for visitation.  Residential  health  care
     4  facility  may  establish time limits as needed to keep residents of such
     5  facility safe.
     6    7. Residential health  care  facilities  shall  create  and  implement
     7  procedures to ensure essential caregiving visits are conducted as safely
     8  as  possible  and  shall include but not be limited to infection control
     9  practices, hand washing procedures, and  utilizing  personal  protective
    10  equipment.
    11    8.  A resident shall have the right to designate a secondary caregiver
    12  and an alternative caregiver.  The  secondary  caregiver  shall  provide
    13  essential  caregiving  in  the  event the primary caregiver is unable to
    14  provide their services to such resident. The alternative caregiver shall
    15  be able to provide care to a resident if the primary caregiver  and  the
    16  secondary  caregiver  are unable to provide their services to such resi-
    17  dent. The primary caregiver shall  provide  notice  to  the  residential
    18  health  care  facility  either by telephone or in writing, when they are
    19  unable to attend a scheduled visit with a resident and will be designat-
    20  ing either the secondary  caregiver  or  the  alternative  caregiver  to
    21  provide care to such resident in their absence.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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