BILL NUMBER: S3185

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to providing informa-
tion on where a list of violations and other actions taken against the
facility can be found

 
PURPOSE:

Requires residential health care facilities to provide residents and
their families with a separate document, as part of an intake applica-
tion, that includes information on how complaints, citations,
inspections, enforcement actions, and penalties taken against the facil-
ity can be found.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends section 2803 of the public health law to add subdivi-
sion 13, mandating the commissioner to require residential health care
              

facilities to provide residents and their families with a separate docu-
ment, as part of an intake application, advising, in no less than
twelve-point font, where online the potential resident and their family
can locate a list of any violations of the facility has received by the
department of health including the web address for the New York state
nursing home profiles website and the nursing home compare website main-
tained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, if applica-
ble.

Section 2: Effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In August of 2020, the New York State Senate held two public hearings to
discuss the impact of COVID-19 on residential health care facilities, in
which several constituents testified to inadequate measures taken by
residential health care facilities to keep residents safe and their
families aware of the health and wellbeing of those residing in the
facilities.

Testimony at the hearings revealed that many residents and their family
members are unaware that the Department of Health maintains information
on compliance of residential health care facilities. This legislation
directs the Commissioner of Health to require residential health care
facilities to provide residents and their families with a separate docu-
ment, as part of an intake application, advising where online to locate
a list of any violations the facility has received by the Department of
Health as well as the nursing home compare website maintained by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

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