Bill Text: NY A11092 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides a patient of a residential health care facility essential caregiver visitation during COVID-19 to provide essential care to such patient.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-10-28 - referred to health [A11092 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A11092-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          11092

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    October 28, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Buttenschon,
          Salka) -- read once and referred 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.
    24    (g) "Phase one" shall mean a  residential  health  care  facility  who
    25  never  had  an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has concluded an
    26  outbreak of the novel coronavirus and fourteen days  have  passed  since
    27  the  region such facility is located has moved into phase one of reopen-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD17418-01-0
        A. 11092                            2

     1  ing pursuant to the New York forward initiative as a response to  COVID-
     2  19.
     3    (h)  "Phase  two"  shall  mean  a residential health care facility who
     4  never had an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has  concluded  an
     5  outbreak  of  the  novel coronavirus and fourteen days have passed since
     6  the region such facility is located has moved into phase two of  reopen-
     7  ing  pursuant to the New York forward initiative as a response to COVID-
     8  19.
     9    (i) "Phase three" shall mean a residential health  care  facility  who
    10  never  had  an outbreak of the novel coronavirus or who has concluded an
    11  outbreak of the novel coronavirus and fourteen days  have  passed  since
    12  the  region  such  facility  is  located  has  moved into phase three of
    13  reopening pursuant to the New York forward initiative as a  response  to
    14  COVID-19.
    15    2.  A  resident  may  receive  essential  caregiver  visitation during
    16  COVID-19, unless such resident:
    17    (i) is in a fourteen-day quarantine period for  testing  positive  for
    18  the  novel  coronavirus and has not yet met the criteria for the discon-
    19  tinuation of the isolation; or
    20    (ii) the resident is symptomatic with symptoms related  to  the  novel
    21  coronavirus.
    22    3.  Visitation  by  an  essential  caregiver  during COVID-19 shall be
    23  utilized to provide a resident with care in the same manner as prior  to
    24  COVID-19.  Such  care  shall  include, but not be limited to assisting a
    25  resident with feeding, hygiene, mobility, dressing,  emotional  support,
    26  medication,  communicating  with  the  residential  health care facility
    27  staff regarding the needs of  such  resident,  reporting  any  suspected
    28  abuse  or  neglect  on  behalf of such resident or requesting additional
    29  care or a change in the current care plan if necessary.
    30    4. The residential health care facility's administrative  director  in
    31  consultation  with  the director of nursing, director of social services
    32  and any other necessary  facility  staff,  shall  develop  policies  and
    33  establish procedures for how to designate and utilize essential caregiv-
    34  ers during COVID-19.
    35    5. A resident shall consult with the necessary residential health care
    36  facility staff to determine and designate a primary caregiver to be such
    37  resident's  essential  caregiver.  Such  determination  shall  take into
    38  consideration:
    39    (a) who the resident desires as a primary caregiver;
    40    (b) the resident's unique situation; and
    41    (c) the past involvement of the potential primary caregiver with  such
    42  resident.
    43    6.  The  residential health care facility shall work with a designated
    44  essential caregiver to establish a schedule to accommodate the essential
    45  caregiver's schedule and meet the needs of the resident.  Such  schedule
    46  shall  take into consideration the number of essential caregivers in the
    47  residential health care facility at the same time and  which  phase  the
    48  residential health care facility has obtained. A residential health care
    49  facility  in  phase  zero shall allow an essential caregiver to schedule
    50  one visit per week not to exceed a total of two hours per week. A  resi-
    51  dential  health  care  facility in phase one or phase two shall allow an
    52  essential caregiver to schedule up to two visits per week not to  exceed
    53  a  total  of  four hours per week. A residential health care facility in
    54  phase three shall allow scheduling of an essential caregiver under  such
    55  facilities  regular  procedures  for visitation. Residential health care
        A. 11092                            3

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