NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Wednesday that will require nursing homes to notify residents, as well as their family members and guardians, when an infection is detected within the facility. It also requires facilities to have a plan in place to accommodate exposed or infected residents to stop the spread of infection.
“New Yorkers living in nursing homes deserve the highest quality of care, and their families deserve to know that their loved ones are safe,” Governor Hochul said. “With this legislation, we will ensure that all facilities are ready to protect residents from exposure after an infection is detected, while improving communication to ensure residents and family members are informed of the situation in a timely manner. This is a point critical step to making sure nursing homes take the right steps to protect the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
The legislation will expand the current pandemic emergency plan to improve communication by requiring nursing homes to notify residents and their loved ones of an infection. It will also require facilities to prepare a plan or procedure for housing residents during an infectious disease outbreak, which will help ensure that every nursing home is prepared and can effectively place residents in the event of an infection for their own safety and that of others. other.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many necessary but deeply painful lessons. As a direct result of our 2020 hearings on nursing home safety, this legislation will ensure that these facilities are prepared when future threats of infection emerge and will hold accountability families of our sick and elderly to make informed decisions about their care. We must never allow our residential care facilities to be this shocked again,” said State Senator James Skoufis.
Among other past actions, in December 2021, the Governor also signed into law a package of four laws to support long-term care facilities and provide system assistance. Legislation directed the Health Commissioner to implement an infection inspection audit and checklist in nursing homes, enacted a series of reforms to the state’s long-term care ombudsman program and related programs to increase accessibility for residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities,
