S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5485
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, BRONSON, STECK, L. ROSENTHAL, BENEDETTO,
DINOWITZ, HYNDMAN, LUPARDO, SAYEGH, DARLING, SEAWRIGHT, COLTON,
STIRPE, JACOBSON, EPSTEIN, WALKER, SIMON, JACKSON, FORREST, CRUZ,
CARROLL, HUNTER, MEEKS, WALLACE, McMAHON, LUNSFORD, CLARK, KELLES,
MITAYNES, ZINERMAN, REYES, GIBBS, GLICK, MAMDANI -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. COOK, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Health
AN ACT to amend the social services law and the mental hygiene law, in
relation to violations of safety conditions in adult care facilities
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 460-d of the
social services law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 1994, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) No operating certificate shall be revoked, suspended or limited
without a hearing held in accordance with procedures established by
department regulations, which procedures shall require that notice of
the time and place of the hearing, and notice of the charges, shall be
served in person or by certified mail addressed to the facility at least
thirty days prior to the date of the hearing. A written answer to the
charges may be filed with the department not less than ten business days
prior to the date of the hearing. An operating certificate may, never-
theless, be suspended or limited without a hearing for a period not in
excess of sixty days, upon written notice to the facility following a
finding by the department that the public health, or an individual's
health, safety or welfare, are in imminent danger; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
THAT IF THE DEPARTMENT DEMONSTRATES REASONABLE EFFORTS TO COMMENCE A
HEARING WITHIN SUCH SIXTY DAY PERIOD AND TO COMPLETE SUCH HEARING WITHIN
A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME, THE HEARING OFFICER MAY AUTHORIZE THE
DEPARTMENT TO EXTEND THE PERIOD OF SUSPENSION OR LIMITATION FOR AN
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02412-02-3
A. 5485 2
APPROPRIATE PERIOD OF TIME, BUT IN NO EVENT BEYOND AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY
DAYS.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 460-d of the social services law, as
added by chapter 669 of the laws of 1977, paragraph (a) as amended by
chapter 719 of the laws of 1989, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 524
of the laws of 1984, subparagraph 2 of paragraph (b) as amended by chap-
ter 733 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
7. (a) The department shall adopt regulations establishing civil
penalties of up to one thousand dollars per day PER VIOLATION, WHICH
SHALL BE ADJUSTED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS PURSUANT TO MODIFICATIONS TO THE
FEDERAL CONSUMER PRICE INDEX AS PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPART-
MENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS FOR ALL CHANGES SINCE
THIS PARAGRAPH WAS ENACTED AND, FOR REPEAT VIOLATIONS, UNDER SUBPARA-
GRAPH TWO OF PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION FOR WHICH A PRIOR PENALTY
WAS ASSESSED, AN AMOUNT UP TO THREE TIMES SUCH PENALTY PER DAY PER
VIOLATION to be assessed against all adult care facilities except facil-
ities operated by a social services district for violations of (i) regu-
lations of the department pertaining to the care of residents in such
facilities, (ii) paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section four
hundred sixty-one-a of this [chapter] ARTICLE, or (iii) an order issued
pursuant to subdivision eight of this section. The regulations shall
specify the violations subject to penalty and the amount of the penalty
to be assessed in connection with each such violation and shall specify
that only civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars per day per
violation, WHICH SHALL BE ADJUSTED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS PURSUANT TO
MODIFICATIONS TO THE FEDERAL CONSUMER PRICE INDEX AS PUBLISHED BY THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
FOR ALL CHANGES SINCE THIS PARAGRAPH WAS ENACTED, shall be assessed
pursuant to this paragraph against an adult care facility found respon-
sible for an act of retaliation or reprisal against any resident,
employee, or other person for having filed a complaint with or having
provided information to any long term care [patient] ombudsman function-
ing in accordance with section [five hundred forty-four or five hundred
forty-five] TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN of the [executive] ELDER law.
(b) [(1)] In addition to any other civil or criminal penalty provided
by law, the department shall have the power to assess civil penalties in
accordance with its regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this subdivision, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the
procedures established by regulations of the department. Such procedures
shall require that notice of the time and place of the hearing, together
with a statement of charges of violations, shall be served in person or
by certified mail addressed to the facility at least thirty days prior
to the date of the hearing. The statement of charges of violations shall
set forth the existence of the violations, the amount of penalty for
which it may become liable and the steps which must be taken to rectify
the violation and, where applicable, a statement that the department
contends that a penalty may be imposed under this paragraph regardless
of rectification. An answer to the charges of violations, in writing,
shall be filed with the department, not less than ten days prior to the
date of hearing. The answer shall notify the department of the facili-
ty's position with respect to each of the charges and shall include all
matters which if not disclosed in the answer would be likely to take the
department by surprise. The commissioner, or a member of his staff who
is designated and authorized by him to hold such hearing, may in his
discretion allow the facility to prove any matter not included in the
answer.
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(C) (1) Where the facility satisfactorily demonstrates that it either
had rectified the violations within thirty days of receiving written
notification of the results of the inspection pursuant to section four
hundred sixty-one-a of this [chapter] ARTICLE, or had submitted within
thirty days an acceptable plan for rectification and was rectifying the
violations in accordance with the steps and within the additional peri-
ods of time as accepted by the department in such plan, no penalty shall
be imposed, except as provided in subparagraph two of this paragraph.
(2) Rectification shall not preclude the assessment of a penalty if
the department establishes at a hearing that a particular violation,
although corrected[, endangered or resulted in harm to any resident as
the result of]:
(i) ENDANGERED ANY RESIDENT. ENDANGERMENT IS DEFINED AS:
(A) the total or substantial failure of the facility's fire detection
or prevention systems, or emergency evacuation procedures prescribed by
department safety standard regulations;
[(ii)] (B) the retention of any resident who has been evaluated by the
resident's physician as being medically or mentally unsuited for care in
the facility or as requiring placement in a hospital or residential
health care facility and for whom the operator is not making persistent
efforts to secure appropriate placement;
[(iii)] (C) the failure in systemic practices and procedures WHICH
SHALL BE DEFINED AS WIDESPREAD OR CHRONIC, AND MATERIAL, NONCOMPLIANCE
WITH STATUTORY OR REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
THE RIGHTS OF RESIDENTS UNDER SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE-D OF THIS
ARTICLE;
[(iv)] (D) the failure of the operator to take actions as required by
department regulations in the event of a resident's illness or accident;
[(v)] (E) the failure of the operator to provide at all times super-
vision of residents by numbers of staff at least equivalent to the night
staffing requirement set forth in department regulations; or
[(vi)] (F) [unreasonable] threats of retaliation or taking reprisals,
including but not limited to [unreasonable] threats of eviction or
hospitalization, against any resident, employee or other person who
makes a complaint concerning the operation of an adult care facility,
participates in the investigation of a complaint or is the subject of an
action identified in a complaint[.
The department shall specify in its regulations those regulations to
which this subparagraph two shall apply.
(3) In assessing penalties pursuant to this paragraph, the department
shall consider promptness of rectification, delay occasioned by the
department, and the specific circumstances of the violations as mitigat-
ing factors.
(c)]; OR
(II) RESULTED IN HARM TO ANY RESIDENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
(A) PHYSICAL HARM;
(B) LOSS OR DENIAL OF ACCESS TO MONEY OR OTHER PERSONAL PROPERTY,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO A VIOLATION OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-
ONE-O OF THIS CHAPTER; OR
(C) BEING SUBJECTED TO (I) CONDUCT BY AN OPERATOR, ADMINISTRATOR, CASE
MANAGER, OR OTHER EMPLOYEE IN A SUPERVISORY POSITION THAT VIOLATES THE
RIGHTS OF A RESIDENT UNDER SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE-D OF THIS
ARTICLE, OR (II) AN EGREGIOUS FAILURE BY AN OPERATOR, ADMINISTRATOR,
CASE MANAGER, OR OTHER EMPLOYEE IN A SUPERVISORY POSITION TO ENSURE THE
RIGHTS OF A RESIDENT UNDER SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE-D OF THIS
ARTICLE.
A. 5485 4
(D) IN ASSESSING PENALTIES PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH, THE DEPARTMENT
SHALL CONSIDER PROMPTNESS OF RECTIFICATION, DELAY OCCASIONED BY THE
DEPARTMENT, AND THE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE VIOLATIONS AS MITIGAT-
ING FACTORS.
(E) Upon the request of the department, the attorney general may
commence an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any
facility subject to the provisions of this section, and against any
person or corporation operating such facility, for the recovery of any
penalty assessed by the department in accordance with the provisions of
this subdivision.
[(d)] (F) Any such penalty assessed by the department may be released
or compromised by the department, SUBJECT TO AND CONSISTENT WITH PARA-
GRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, before the matter has been referred to
the attorney general, and where such matter has been referred to the
attorney general, any such penalty may be released or compromised and
any action commenced to recover the same may be settled and discontinued
by the attorney general, AFTER CONSIDERING PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION AND with the consent of the department.
§ 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 9 of section 460-d of the
social services law, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 558 of the laws
of 1999 and paragraph (b) as added by chapter 848 of the laws of 1992,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall have authority to impose a civil penalty [not
exceeding one thousand dollars per day] CONSISTENT WITH SECTION TWELVE
OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW against, and to issue an order requiring the
closing of, after notice and opportunity to be heard, any facility which
does not possess a valid operating certificate issued by the department
and is an adult care facility subject to the provisions of this article
and the regulations of the department. A hearing shall be conducted in
accordance with procedures established by department regulations which
procedures shall require that notice of the determination that the
facility is an adult care facility and the reasons for such determi-
nation and notice of the time and place of the hearing be served in
person on the operator, owner or prime lessor, if any, or by certified
mail, return receipt requested, addressed to such person and received at
least twenty days prior to the date of the hearing. If such operator,
owner or prime lessor, if any, is not known to the department, then
service may be made by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place
within the facility or by sending a copy thereof by certified mail,
return receipt requested, addressed to the facility. A written answer to
the notice of violation may be filed with the department not less than
five days prior to the date of the hearing. Demonstration by the facil-
ity that it possessed an operating certificate issued pursuant to this
article, article twenty-eight of the public health law or article
sixteen, [twenty-three,] thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene
law at the time the hearing was commenced shall constitute a complete
defense to any charges made pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) [The penalty authorized by this section shall begin to run thirty
days after the department provides the operator, in writing, with a
summary of the inspection of the facility by which the department deter-
mined that he or she is operating an uncertified adult care facility.]
The submission of an application by the operator for an operating
certificate for the facility shall not act as a bar to the imposition of
a penalty against the operator OF AN UNLICENSED ADULT CARE FACILITY.
A. 5485 5
§ 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 9 of section 460-d of the social
services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (iv) to read as
follows:
(IV) IF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DETERMINES, BASED ON A COMPLAINT OR
OTHER FACTS KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT, THAT THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE
THAT AN INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY IS OPERATING AN ADULT HOME, ENRICHED HOUS-
ING PROGRAM, OR RESIDENCE FOR ADULTS WHICH DOES NOT POSSESS A VALID
OPERATING CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT, AND THAT ONE OR MORE
CONDITIONS OR ACTIVITIES AT SUCH FACILITY CONSTITUTE OR ARE LIKELY TO
GIVE RISE TO AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO THE HEALTH OF THE RESIDENTS, AND
AWAITING A COURT ORDER PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (III) OF THIS PARAGRAPH
WOULD BE SERIOUSLY DETRIMENTAL TO THE HEALTH OF SUCH RESIDENTS, THE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH MAY, NOTWITHSTANDING AN OBJECTION BY THE OPERATOR,
ADMINISTRATOR OR OTHER PERSON IN CHARGE, INSPECT THE ENTIRE PREMISES,
WHICH SHALL INCLUDE ACCESS TO ALL DWELLINGS ON THE SAID PROPERTY WHICH
HOUSE TENANTS/OCCUPANTS AS WELL AS ACCESS TO SUCH TENANTS/OCCUPANTS, FOR
THE PURPOSE OF ASCERTAINING WHETHER SUCH DANGER EXISTS OR IS LIKELY TO
ARISE ON AN IMMEDIATE BASIS. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH MAY REQUEST THE
ASSISTANCE OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF CARRYING OUT SUCH
INSPECTION AND MAY TAKE ANY APPROPRIATE ACTION IF IT DETERMINES THAT
SUCH DANGER EXISTS OR IS LIKELY TO ARISE, INCLUDING ISSUING A WRITTEN
NOTICE DIRECTING THE OPERATOR, ADMINISTRATOR OR OTHER PERSON IN CHARGE
OF SUCH FACILITY TO CEASE OR CORRECT THE CONDITION OR ACTIVITY AT ISSUE.
AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE THEREAFTER, WITHIN A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED
FIFTEEN DAYS, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE THE OPERATOR AN OPPORTUNITY
TO BE HEARD AND TO PRESENT ANY PROOF THAT SUCH CONDITION OR ACTIVITY
DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A DANGER TO THE HEALTH OF THE RESIDENTS OF SUCH
FACILITY. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, UPON REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH, SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO APPLY TO THE SUPREME COURT IN THE COUNTY
IN WHICH THE FACILITY IS LOCATED FOR AN ORDER FOR ANY APPROPRIATE ADDI-
TIONAL RELIEF.
§ 5. Subdivision 11 of section 460-d of the social services law, as
amended by section 154 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws
of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
11. On or before issuance by the department to an adult care facility
operator of official written notice of: the proposed revocation, suspen-
sion or denial of the operator's operating certificate; the limitation
of the operating certificate with respect to new admissions; the issu-
ance of a department order or commissioner's order; the seeking of equi-
table relief pursuant to this section; the [proposed] assessment of
civil penalties for violations of the provisions of [subparagraph two
of] paragraph [(b)] (C) of subdivision seven of this section or place-
ment on the "do not refer list" pursuant to subdivision fifteen of this
section, written notice also shall be given to the appropriate office of
the department of mental hygiene, department of corrections and communi-
ty supervision and local social services districts, and provided further
that the department of health shall notify hospitals, RESIDENTIAL HEALTH
CARE FACILITIES AND ADULT CARE FACILITIES in the locality in which such
facility is located that such notice has been issued. Upon resolution of
such enforcement action the department shall WITHIN TEN DAYS notify the
appropriate office of the department of mental hygiene, department of
corrections and community supervision, local social services districts
[and], hospitals, RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AND ADULT CARE
FACILITIES.
A. 5485 6
§ 6. Subdivision 12 of section 460-d of the social services law, as
amended by section 42 of part B of chapter 58 of the laws of 2004, is
amended to read as follows:
12. [Social] HOSPITALS, RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, ADULT CARE
FACILITIES, SOCIAL services districts and other local government enti-
ties established pursuant to this chapter shall be prohibited from
making referrals for admissions to adult care facilities that have
received official written notice regarding: the proposed revocation,
suspension or denial of the operator's operating certificate; the limi-
tation of the operating certificate with respect to new admissions; the
issuance of department order or commissioner's orders; the seeking of
equitable relief pursuant to this section[; the proposed assessment of
civil penalties for violations of the provisions of subparagraph two of
paragraph (b) of subdivision seven of this section]; or the facility's
placement on the "do not refer list" pursuant to subdivision fifteen of
this section.
§ 7. Section 460-d of the social services law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 18 to read as follows:
18. WHEN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ISSUES OFFICIAL WRITTEN NOTICE TO AN
OPERATOR OF A PROPOSED ACTION SPECIFIED IN SUBDIVISION ELEVEN OF THIS
SECTION, AND THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINES THAT THERE IS A CONDITION WHICH
CONSTITUTES AN IMMINENT DANGER TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE OF ANY
RESIDENT, THE DEPARTMENT MAY PROHIBIT THAT OPERATOR FROM ADMITTING ANY
NEW RESIDENT TO THE FACILITY UNTIL THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINES THAT THERE
IS NO LONGER AN IMMINENT DANGER TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE OF ANY
RESIDENT.
§ 8. Section 461-c of the social services law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
10. THE OPERATOR OF AN ADULT HOME OR AN ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM SHALL
PROVIDE TO PROSPECTIVE RESIDENTS WHO INQUIRE ABOUT ADMISSION, AND SHALL
POST ON ITS WEBSITE, A COPY OF THE FACILITY'S APPROVED
ADMISSION/RESIDENCY AGREEMENT.
§ 9. The closing paragraph of subdivision 3 of section 461-d of the
social services law, as added by chapter 601 of the laws of 1981, is
amended to read as follows:
Waiver of any provision [contained within] OF this subdivision by a
resident of an adult care facility OR BY THE RESIDENT'S LEGAL REPRESEN-
TATIVE OR RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE, WITH RESPECT TO A RESIDENT OF AN
ADULT HOME, RESIDENCE FOR ADULTS OR ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM, shall be
void.
§ 10. Section 461-e of the social services law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
3-A. EVERY ADULT HOME AND ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM SHALL:
(A) POST IN A PROMINENT POSITION IN THE FACILITY SO AS TO BE ACCESSI-
BLE TO ALL RESIDENTS AND TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC:
(I) A SUMMARY OF ANY REPORT OF INSPECTION BASED ON A COMPLAINT ISSUED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE FACILITY WITHIN THE PREVIOUS YEAR
WHICH RESULTED IN THE PAYMENT OF A FINE OR PENALTY BY THE FACILITY; AND
(II) NOTICE OF RESIDENTS' RIGHT TO REVIEW REPORTS UNDER PARAGRAPH (B)
OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
(B) PROVIDE TO ANY RESIDENT AND EACH APPLICANT FOR ADMISSION AN OPPOR-
TUNITY TO REVIEW ANY REPORT OF INSPECTION BASED ON A COMPLAINT ISSUED BY
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO THE FACILITY WITHIN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
(C) PROVIDE TO THE RESIDENT COUNCIL A SUMMARY OF ANY REPORT OF
INSPECTION BASED ON A COMPLAINT ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WITH-
IN FOURTEEN DAYS OF RECEIPT BY THE FACILITY.
A. 5485 7
§ 11. Paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision 2 of section 461-a of
the social services law, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 735 of the
laws of 1994, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 601 of the laws of
1981 and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 769 of the laws of 2021,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) With respect to adult care facilities the department shall conduct
a minimum of one unannounced inspection of each such facility to deter-
mine the adequacy of care being rendered, pursuant to the following:
(1) Such facilities [receiving the department's highest rating] DETER-
MINED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO BE IN COMPLIANCE OR SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE
WITH APPLICABLE STATUTES AND REGULATIONS, BASED ON THE FACILITY'S MOST
RECENT INSPECTION, shall be inspected at least once every eighteen
months on an unannounced basis.
(2) All other such facilities shall be inspected on an unannounced
basis no less than annually. The commissioner may provide for more
frequent inspections of any such facilities. Such inspection shall not
be required with respect to any facility for which the commissioner has
delegated responsibility for inspection and supervision to a social
services official pursuant to section four hundred sixty-c of this
[chapter] ARTICLE. Any employee of the department or a social services
district who gives or causes to be given advance notice of such unan-
nounced inspections to any unauthorized persons shall, in addition to
any other penalty provided by law, be suspended by the department or the
social services district from all duties without pay for at least five
days or for such greater period of time as the department or social
services district shall determine. Any such suspension shall be made by
the department or social services district in accordance with all other
applicable provisions of law.
(b) [The department or a social services district, where appropriate,
shall each year conduct a minimum of one full inspection of each adult
care facility. Such inspection] AN INSPECTION OF AN ADULT CARE FACILITY
UNDER THIS SECTION shall include, but shall not be limited to, examina-
tion of the medical, dietary and social services records of the facility
as well as the minimum standards of construction, life safety standards,
quality and adequacy of care, rights of residents, payments and all
other areas of operation. The purpose of any inspection shall be to
determine compliance with requirements of applicable provisions of law
and regulations of the department.
(c) (I) An inspection report shall be made of each inspection which
shall clearly identify and indicate in detail each area of operation,
including, but not limited to, the premises, equipment, personnel, resi-
dent care and services, and whether [each] ANY such area of operation or
any of its component parts is [or is] not in compliance with the regu-
lations of the department and all other applicable requirements. It also
shall identify those areas of operation or any of its component parts
found not in compliance as a result of failure in systemic practices and
procedures. The operator shall be notified of the results of the
inspection in a manner to be determined by regulations of the department
AND SHALL SUBMIT A WRITTEN PLAN OF CORRECTION TO THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN
THIRTY CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE THE INSPECTION REPORT IS RECEIVED.
THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE OPERATOR OF THE ACCEPTABILITY OF THE
PLAN OF CORRECTION WITHIN THIRTY CALENDAR DAYS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S
RECEIPT OF SUCH PLAN. Such notification shall contain directions as may
be appropriate as to the manner and time in which compliance with appli-
cable requirements of law or regulations of the department shall be
effected.
A. 5485 8
(II) The department shall also require the operator of an adult home,
ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM or residence for adults to develop, biannually
update and implement plans for quality assurance activities for each
area of operation. Quality assurance activities include but are not
limited to, development and maintenance of performance standards includ-
ing infection control, measurement of adherence to such standards and to
applicable state and local laws and regulations, identification of
performance failures, design, and implementation of corrective action.
Each plan must also include the creation of a quality improvement
committee that is charged with meeting periodically, at least once every
six months, to review summary findings from monitoring implementation of
the facility's plan, evaluating the effectiveness of corrective action
policies, and identifying trends and improvement activities. While
reviewing facility performance, the committee shall not examine
personally identifiable resident incidents. Such committee shall include
the administrator or operator of the facility, the resident council
president or other resident representative, and representatives from
frontline employees from each area of operation.
§ 12. Subparagraphs (I) and (II) of paragraph 2 of subdivision (i) of
section 29.15 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 168 of
the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:
(I) A patient about to be discharged or conditionally released from a
department facility licensed or operated by the office for people with
developmental disabilities or from an inpatient facility operated or
licensed by the office of [alcoholism and substance abuse] ADDICTION
services AND SUPPORTS or the office of mental health to an adult home,
ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM or residence for adults, as defined in section
two of the social services law, shall be referred only to such home or
residence that is consistent with that patient's needs and that operates
pursuant to section four hundred sixty of the social services law,
provided further that: (A) for a department facility licensed or oper-
ated by the office for people with developmental disabilities or for an
inpatient facility operated by the office of [alcoholism and substance
abuse] ADDICTION services AND SUPPORTS or the office of mental health,
the facility director retains authority to determine whether the home,
program or residence is consistent with that patient's needs and (B)
such referral shall be made to the patient's home county whenever possi-
ble or appropriate.
(II) No patient about to be discharged or conditionally released from
a department facility licensed or operated by the office for people with
developmental disabilities or from an inpatient facility operated or
licensed by the office of [alcoholism and substance abuse] ADDICTION
services AND SUPPORTS or the office of mental health shall be referred
to any adult home, ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAM or residence for adults, as
defined in section two of the social services law, which has received an
official written notice from the department of health of: (A) the
proposed revocation, suspension or denial of its operating certificate;
(B) the limitation of its operating certificate with respect to new
admissions; (C) the issuance of a department of health order or commis-
sioner of health's order or the seeking of equitable relief pursuant to
section four hundred sixty-d of the social services law; (D) the
proposed assessment of civil penalties for violations of the provisions
of [subparagraph two of] paragraph [(b)] (C) of subdivision seven of
section four hundred sixty-d of the social services law; or placement on
the "do not refer list" pursuant to subdivision fifteen of section four
A. 5485 9
hundred sixty-d of the social services law. Referrals may resume when
such enforcement actions are resolved.
§ 13. Severability clause. If any provision of this act, or any appli-
cation of any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, or to
violate or be inconsistent with any federal law or regulation, that
shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of
this act, which can be given effect without that provision or applica-
tion; and to that end, the provisions and applications of this act are
severable.
§ 14. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.