Bill Text: NY S06629 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes Nicole's law, which provides for intake and discharge procedures regarding individuals with self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES [S06629 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S06629-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6629

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      July 12, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene  law,  in  relation  to  establishing
          Nicole's law

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

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Nicole's law".
     2    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 9.61 to
     3  read as follows:
     4  § 9.61 Patients with self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries.
     5    1. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the
     6  following meanings:
     7    (a) "self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries" shall include  suicide
     8  attempts, drug overdoses, and other self-harm injuries including but not
     9  limited to cutting oneself.
    10    (b) "assisted outpatient services" shall mean categories of outpatient
    11  services  including,  but  not  limited  to, case management services or
    12  assertive community treatment team  services  to  provide  care  coordi-
    13  nation,  and  may  also  include  any  of  the  following  categories of
    14  services: medication; periodic blood tests or  urinalysis  to  determine
    15  compliance with prescribed medications; individual or group therapy; day
    16  or partial day programming activities; educational and vocational train-
    17  ing  or  activities; alcohol or substance abuse treatment and counseling
    18  and periodic tests for the presence of  alcohol  or  illegal  drugs  for
    19  persons  with  a  history  of alcohol or substance abuse; supervision of
    20  living arrangements; and any other services within a local services plan
    21  developed pursuant to article forty-one of this chapter,  prescribed  to
    22  treat the person's mental illness and to assist the person in living and
    23  functioning  in  the  community,  or  to attempt to prevent a relapse or
    24  deterioration that may reasonably be predicted to result in  suicide  or
    25  the need for hospitalization.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13480-01-9
        S. 6629                             2

     1    (c)  "assisted  outpatient services provider" shall mean any organiza-
     2  tion which provides assisted outpatient services.
     3    2.  All hospitals operating in this state shall, with regard to intake
     4  practices, ensure the following when admitting  patients  with  self-in-
     5  flicted, life-threatening injuries:
     6    (a)  examine  each such patient's medical history to determine whether
     7  such patient has had any previous  incidents  of  self-inflicted,  life-
     8  threatening injuries; and
     9    (b)  reach  out  to  any known family or caretaker of such patient for
    10  information about any previous instances of self-inflicted, life-threat-
    11  ening injuries.
    12    3. Where a  patient  admitted  with  self-inflicted,  life-threatening
    13  injuries  is  identified as having previous instances of self-inflicted,
    14  life-threatening injuries, the hospital shall:
    15    (a) obtain such patient's previous hospital  records  to  verify  such
    16  previous instances of self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries;
    17    (b)  examine  such  patient's  previous  hospital records to determine
    18  which treatments were previously used in order to avoid repeating  prac-
    19  tices which failed such patient and led to repeated episodes of self-in-
    20  flicted, life-threatening injuries;
    21    (c)  increase  the  minimum inpatient stay by an amount which shall be
    22  directed by the commissioner of health by  rule  and/or  regulation  for
    23  each previous instance of self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries; and
    24    (d) make reasonable attempts to contact such patient's family or care-
    25  taker  in  order  to  receive  insights  on such patient's mental health
    26  history, and any other information which may be useful in such patient's
    27  treatment.
    28    4. Where a patient is being discharged after having been admitted with
    29  self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries, the hospital shall:
    30    (a) provide such patient's family or caretaker  with  notice  of  such
    31  patient's discharge at least forty-eight hours prior to such discharge;
    32    (b)  ensure  that  hospital staff conduct a meeting with such patient,
    33  which may include such patient's family or  caretaker,  to  inform  such
    34  patient on what is needed to recover and how to best manage their mental
    35  health;
    36    (c)  inform such patient of any assisted outpatient services providers
    37  that could be helpful in such patient's recovery; and
    38    (d) conduct a follow-up post-discharge within a time frame which shall
    39  be established by the commissioner.
    40    5. Where a patient is referred  to  an  assisted  outpatient  services
    41  provider  by a hospital pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision four of
    42  this section, such assisted outpatient services  provider  shall  ensure
    43  that  such  patient  receives priority access to its assisted outpatient
    44  services.
    45    6. The operator of any clinical trial, as defined  in  section  forty-
    46  nine  hundred  of  the  public health law, which dismisses an individual
    47  from consideration of participation because  such  individual  indicates
    48  that  they  have  made  a  suicide  attempt or have been suicidal, shall
    49  provide such individual with the suicide  crisis  line,  1-800-273-8255,
    50  and whenever possible the contact information of a local assisted outpa-
    51  tient  services  provider.    Such  clinical  trial  operator shall also
    52  provide a positive message to such individual  such  as,  "If  you  need
    53  help,  I  encourage you to seek that help, most importantly it will help
    54  you feel better and hopefully you will be able  to  participate  in  the
    55  future."
        S. 6629                             3

     1    §  3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
     2  law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
     3  rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act  on  its
     4  effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
     5  effective date.