Bill Text: NJ A4374 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires long-term care facilities to test personnel for COVID-19 twice per week.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee [A4374 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2020-A4374-Introduced.html

ASSEMBLY, No. 4374

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JULY 2, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  PAMELA R. LAMPITT

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires long-term care facilities to test personnel for COVID-19 twice per week.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning testing requirements for long-term care facilities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    As used in this act:

     "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Health.

     "COVID-19" means the coronavirus disease 2019.

     "COVID-19 crisis" means the duration of the public health emergency and state of emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

     "Department" means the Department of Health.

     "Long-term care facility" means a nursing home, assisted living facility, comprehensive personal care home, residential health care facility, or dementia care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

     "Outbreak response plan" means the plan developed by a long-term care facility, pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.243 (C.26:2H-12.87).

    

     2.    a.  Long-term care facilities shall test or make arrangements for the testing of all personnel, including all employees, contract staff, medical staff, operators and administrators for COVID-19 twice per week, following the facility's outbreak response plan developed pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.243 (C.26:2H-12.87).  Long-term care facilities shall make the necessary modifications to the facility's outbreak response plan to include a protocol for COVID-19 testing for personnel twice per week and shall submit the plan modifications to the department no later than seven days after the effective date of this act.

     b.    The requirements in this section shall remain in effect until the commissioner determines COVID-19 testing of long-term care facility personnel twice per week is no longer necessary.

 

     3.    a.  Within 14 days after the effective date of this act, both the operator and administrator of each long-term care facility shall provide to the department a certificate of compliance with the requirements listed in section 2 of this act.  The commissioner is authorized to suspend or revoke the license of any long-term care facility determined to not be in compliance with the requirements.  Upon revoking the license of a long-term care facility under this subsection, the commissioner, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, upon providing notice to the current operator of the facility at least 24 hours in advance, may appoint a receiver to continue operations at the facility in order to preserve the life, health, and safety of the  facility's residents.

     b.    Any individual who is subject to mandatory testing under the bill who refuses to be tested for COVID-19 shall be considered to have outdated or incomplete health assessments and shall be excluded from, and prohibited from providing services at, any long-term care facility until testing is performed.

 

     4.    This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire one year after the end of both the state of emergency and the public health emergency declared in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

 

 

STATEMENT

    

     This bill requires long-term care facilities to test all personnel for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) twice per week as part of the facility's outbreak response plan.  Outbreak response plans are mandatory for long-term care facilities and include policies to conduct routine monitoring of residents and staff to quickly identify signs of a communicable disease that could develop into an outbreak, policies for reporting outbreaks to public health officials, and protocols for isolating and cohorting individuals who contract a communicable disease. 

     Under this bill, long-term care facilities are required to make the necessary modifications to the facility's outbreak response plan to include a protocol for COVID-19 testing for personnel twice per week and will submit the plan modifications to the Department of Health no later than seven days after the effective date of this bill.  Any positive COVID-19 test result will be reported in the manner required by the Commissioner of Health.  These requirements will remain in effect until the commissioner determines that COVID-19 testing of long-term care facility personnel twice per week is no longer necessary for the COVID-19 crisis. 

     The commissioner is authorized to suspend or revoke the license of any long-term care facility determined to be not in compliance with the testing requirements.  Any individual who is subject to mandatory testing under the bill who refuses to be tested for COVID-19 will be considered to have outdated or incomplete health assessments and will be excluded from, and prohibited from providing services  at, any long-term care facility until testing is performed.

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