Rockaway, NY – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway) announced that she has introduced a bill, A.6886, which would require agencies to notify elected officials before introducing a plan to reduce funding for a nursing home or hospital in their district. Sen. James Sanders is introducing this bill in the Senate.

“The recent plan to make St. John’s Episcopal Hospital (SJEH) a micro-hospital was not relayed to me, Sen. Sanders, or any community partner, even though this change, if adopted, would have dramatically changed our district and affected the lives of our constituents,” Pheffer Amato said. “This cannot happen again. As elected officials, it’s important to be proactive, not reactive, to changes in our community, so that we can advocate for our constituents in the best way possible.”

This legislation was created in response to the proposed changes to SJEH. Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato and Sen. Sanders also introduced legislation earlier this month to eliminate conflicts of interest and ensure that a public employee is unable to work on projects on which they have intimate knowledge as an independent consultant.