BILL NUMBER: S4684

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to orders not to
resuscitate; and to repeal article 29-B of the public health law relat-
ing to orders not to resuscitate for residents of mental hygiene facili-
ties

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This is one of a series of five bills, informally referred to as the
"Surrogate Decision-Making Improvement Acts." The bills make
technical/minor, clarifying and coordinating amendments and other
improvements to the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) (Ch. 8,
Laws of 2010) and other laws that govern health care decisions, includ-
ing life-sustaining treatment decisions, for patients who lack deci-
sion-making capacity.

This bill repeals PHL Art. 29-B, Orders Not to Resuscitate for Patients
in Mental Hygiene Facilities, which is now covered by other provisions
              

of the Public Health Law.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 repeals Public Health Law Article 29-B (do-not-resuscitate
orders for patients in mental hygiene facilities).

Section 2 amends § 2994-b to add subdivision 1-a to make the FHCDA
applicable to decisions regarding orders not to resuscitate for a
patient in an OMH licensed psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units
of general hospitals.

Section 3 amends PHL.2994-cc(5) to delete a reference to PHL Article
29-B. Section 4 amends PHL § 2994-ff to delete a reference to PHL Arti-
cle 29-B. Section 5 sets forth the effective date: ninety days after it
becomes a law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill repeals PHL Art 29-B Orders Not To Resuscitate. For Residents
of Mental Hygiene Facilities.  Prior to 2010, PHL Art. 29-B governed DNR
orders in hospitals, nursing homes, mental hygiene facilities and else-
where. Ch. 8, L. 2010 (i) replaced the DNR Law with the FHCDA in hospi-
tals and nursing homes, amended PHL Art. 29-B to make it applicable only
to residents of mental hygiene facilities, i.e., psychiatric hospitals,
psychiatric units of general hospitals, and OPWDD operated developmental
centers, and (iii) created PHL Art. 29-CCC - Non Hospital Orders Not To
Resuscitate, to cover all other settings.

It soon became clear that there is no need for a separate DNR law for
residents of mental hygiene facilities. First, DNR orders for residents
of OPWDD-operated developmental centers were already governed by SCPA §
1750-b, making PHL Art. 29-B redundant. Second, DNR orders in psychiat-
ric hospitals and general hospital mental health units were more appro-
priately governed by the provisions in the FHCDA. Moreover, variations
in DNR procedures and standards especially between the procedures and

standards in hospital medical units and hospital mental health units
have become a source of confusion and complexity.

Accordingly, section 1 of this bill repeals PHL Art. 29-B. Related
amendments in this bill provide that DNR decisions for patients in
psychiatric hospitals and units are governed by the FHCDA and confirm
that DNR decisions for all persons with developmental disabilities are
governed by SCPA 1.750-b (§§ 2 - 4).

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-2020: S5762A/A7172A Gunther

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.