BILL NUMBER:  S6364

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the authorized
capacity of hospice residences of dually certified hospice inpatient
beds

 PURPOSE :

To increase the number of hospice beds which can be used for
in-patient pain control or symptom management that would otherwise
require hospitalization.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

The bill would amend Public Health Law § 4002 to increase the number
of beds in hospice residences that can be dually certified as both
hospice and in-patient beds from 25% to 50% of the total beds, with
the Commissioner of Health's approval.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Hospice residences are currently limited in the percentage of beds
that can be dually certified for either residential level of care or
inpatient level of care. Swing beds, as they are called, provide the
              

opportunity to offer a higher level of care to patients and avoid
hospitalization. These beds must be built to construction standards
for inpatient level of care, and comply with Federal regulations
ranging from nurse staffing to the dispensing of drugs.

The current limit on the number of swing beds is disruptive to
terminally ill patients served by the hospice residence. If
temporarily hospitalized, patients are forced to await readmission to
the hospice, often in a nursing home, if a residential bed is
unavailable. If forced into a nursing home with which the hospice does
not have a contract, a serious gap in the continuum of care can
significantly disrupt the established Hospice plan of care.

Expanding the number of swing beds in a hospice residence will also
allow terminally ill patients in hospitals, who still require
in-patient care to be transferred to hospice residences sooner. For
hospice patients residing in the community who require advanced pain
control or symptom management and are struggling to be maintained
comfortably at home, it would avoid unnecessary re-hospitalization and
expedite safe and effective care.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.