Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) announced that he co-sponsored and helped pass legislation to address making provider data in nursing homes and healthcare facilities public (A.244) as well as reunite families separated during the ongoing pandemic by expanding nursing home visitation rights (A.1052B).

“During these challenging times, I have heard heartbreaking stories from residents who have been dealing with misinformation and lack of transparency regarding the Governor’s executive orders surrounding nursing homes. I have worked with advocates to make the executive understand that all provider data should be made available to the public as well as reinstating visitation which helps maintain important lines of communication and caregiving support; both of which would provide families greater peace of mind,” Jones said. “In the wake of COVID-19 restrictions, families deserve to know the practices surrounding the care of their loved ones, and they deserve to be able to see them in person to ensure their well-being.”

A.244 ensures that the department provides timely feedback to providers and to the public on the department's website whenever the HERDS is activated. A.1052 streamlines guidelines to safely allow personal and compassionate caregiving visitation at nursing homes and adult care facilities, including visits to provide short-term emergency care and end-of-life support or other dire medical circumstances. Jones noted that these measures would provide streamlined data and policies correcting regulations which caused many residents and families anguish during the pandemic. It also corrects this for any future public health emergencies.

These bills were part of a package of bills that Jones and his Assembly colleagues passed to bring much-needed oversight and transparency to residential care facilities.

These measures would:

• create the Reimagining Long-Term Care Task Force to study the state of long-term care services and challenges in New York, including issues related explicitly to COVID-19 (A.3922-A);
• require adult care facilities to include infection control assessments in their regular quality assurance plans and create quality improvement committees (A.5846); and
• require residential health care facility operators to provide residents and their families with the information they need to access critical updates online and make informed decisions about facility placement (A.5848).