Bill Text: NY A00187 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the New York city department of corrections and the New York city health and hospitals corporation to adopt safety policies to protect health care workers who treat incarcerated individuals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to cities [A00187 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00187-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           187

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. CRUZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Cities

        AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
          relation  to requiring the New York city department of corrections and
          the New York city health and hospitals  corporation  to  adopt  safety
          policies and training to protect health care workers

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

     1    Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is  amended
     2  by adding a new section 9-168 to read as follows:
     3    §  9-168 Health care worker safety policy; reports. a. Definitions. As
     4  used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
     5  ings:
     6    1. "Correctional health services" means the division of the  New  York
     7  city  health  and  hospitals corporation responsible for the delivery of
     8  health and mental health services to  incarcerated  individuals  in  the
     9  custody  of  the department, and any other health care entity designated
    10  by the city of New York as the agency or agencies responsible for health
    11  services for incarcerated individuals in the care  and  custody  of  the
    12  department, including an outside provider sharing such responsibilities.
    13    2.  "Health  care worker" means a health care professional employed by
    14  correctional health services or another entity  described  in  paragraph
    15  one  of this subdivision who regularly provides health and mental health
    16  services to incarcerated individuals in the custody of  the  department.
    17  Such term shall include dentists, physical therapists and subcontractors
    18  of  any  health  care  entity  designated by the city of New York as the
    19  agency or agencies responsible  for  health  services  for  incarcerated
    20  individuals  in  the  care  and  custody of the department, including an
    21  outside provider.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01236-01-5
        A. 187                              2

     1    3. "Hospitals corporation" or "corporation" means the  New  York  city
     2  health and hospitals corporation.
     3    4.  "Special  officer"  means  a  peace  officer appointed pursuant to
     4  subdivision forty of section 2.10 of  the  criminal  procedure  law  and
     5  employed  by the city of New York or the New York city health and hospi-
     6  tals corporation to perform the patrol, investigation,  and  maintenance
     7  of  the  peace  duties  of  special  officer, senior special officer and
     8  hospital security officer.
     9    b. Health care worker safety policy. 1.  The  department,  in  collab-
    10  oration  with correctional health services shall develop and implement a
    11  joint health care worker safety policy to protect  health  care  workers
    12  from  assault  and  other  violent  incidents  during  the  provision of
    13  services to incarcerated individuals.  Such  policy  shall  establish  a
    14  minimum  standard  of care for health care worker safety which shall, at
    15  minimum:
    16    2. Require yearly training for all uniformed staff of  the  department
    17  and  all  special officers as defined in paragraph four of subdivision a
    18  of this section regarding  minimum  standards  necessary  to  secure  an
    19  incarcerated individual in the presence of a health care worker.
    20    3.  Establish  protocols  in  consultation  with  stakeholders such as
    21  health care employee unions, advocacy and community groups, for  requir-
    22  ing uniformed staff of the department and all special officers to inform
    23  all health care workers who will or are likely to come into contact with
    24  an  incarcerated  individual  with  a  history  of violent or aggressive
    25  behavior whenever such individual is admitted to  a  hospital  or  other
    26  medical  facility.    Such  protocols shall be reviewed, and modified if
    27  deemed necessary, by the department and  health  care  providers  on  an
    28  annual  basis  to  ensure  such protocols are adequate to protect health
    29  care workers.
    30    c. Reporting. 1. No later than ninety days after the effective date of
    31  this section, and  every  six  months  thereafter,  the  department  and
    32  correctional  health services shall publish a joint report on the health
    33  care worker safety policy, which shall include but not be limited  to  a
    34  review  of any new rules and regulations promulgated or amended pursuant
    35  thereto, and an evaluation of compliance with the policy at each correc-
    36  tional facility and any medical facility subject to  the  provisions  of
    37  this chapter.
    38    2.  No later than nine months after the effective date of this section
    39  and annually, the department  and  correctional  health  services  shall
    40  prepare  and  submit  a  report  to  the  legislature. Such report shall
    41  include a copy of every joint report published pursuant to paragraph two
    42  of this subdivision during the twelve months preceding the date on which
    43  the report required pursuant to this paragraph is due  and  any  related
    44  materials,  together  with  any recommendations or proposals relating to
    45  health care worker safety.   Such report shall include  an  analysis  of
    46  whether  certain  punitive  measures,  including  but not limited to the
    47  imposition of a higher maximum sentence of imprisonment for assault on a
    48  health care worker by an incarcerated individual, and/or provisions  for
    49  the extension of such an individual's current sentence should be consid-
    50  ered by the legislature as a deterrent to such assaults.
    51    d.  Private  right  of  action. 1. The department, the corporation, or
    52  both such department and corporation shall be liable for damages to  any
    53  health  care  worker  who suffers injuries as a result of any failure to
    54  enforce or comply with minimum standards of care established pursuant to
    55  subdivision b of this section.
        A. 187                              3

     1    2. A health care worker aggrieved by a violation of paragraph  one  of
     2  this subdivision and subdivision b of this section shall have a cause of
     3  action  in  any  court of competent jurisdiction against the department,
     4  the corporation or both such department and corporation.
     5    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.