Bill Text: NY A02800 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Includes physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recreational therapists within the existing statutory staffing standards for nursing homes.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-30 - print number 2800a [A02800 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A02800-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2800--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, WEPRIN, ARDILA, SIMON, BERGER, JENSEN, DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- recom- mitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing staffing standards for physical therapists, physical therapist assist- ants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recre- ational therapists at nursing homes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2895-b of the public health law is 2 amended by adding four new paragraphs (e), (f), (g) and (h) to read as 3 follows: 4 (e) "Physical therapist or physical therapist assistant" means any 5 person licensed or certified as such pursuant to article one hundred 6 thirty-six of the education law. 7 (f) "Occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant" means 8 any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice as such pursuant 9 to article one hundred fifty-six of the education law. 10 (g) "Respiratory therapist" or "respiratory therapy technician" means 11 any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice as such pursuant 12 to article one hundred sixty-four of the education law. 13 (h) "Recreational therapist" means any person with a bachelor's degree 14 with certification as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist from 15 the national council for therapeutic recreation certification. 16 § 2. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 2 of section 2895-b of the public 17 health law, as added by chapter 156 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 18 read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05146-02-4A. 2800--A 2 1 (h) The minimum staffing standard includes the hours which are 2 required to be reported by a nursing home to the federal Centers for 3 Medicare and Medicaid Services through the payroll based journal for 4 long-term care for certified [nursing assistants and] nurses aides, 5 licensed nurses, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, 6 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory 7 therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recreational 8 therapists. In determining compliance with the staffing standards under 9 this subdivision, an individual shall not be counted while performing 10 administrative services as defined in the payroll based journal for 11 long-term care facilities. 12 § 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 3 and paragraph (a) of 13 subdivision 4 of section 2895-b of the public health law, as added by 14 chapter 156 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as follows: 15 (a) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-two every nursing 16 home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of 17 care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide, a licensed nurse 18 [or], a nurse aide, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assist- 19 ant, an occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a 20 respiratory therapist, a respiratory therapy technician, or a recre- 21 ational therapist, or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 22 3.5 hours, no less than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be 23 provided by a certified nurse aide [or], a nurse aide, a physical thera- 24 pist assistant, an occupational therapy assistant or a respiratory ther- 25 apy technician, or any combination thereof and no less than 1.1 hours of 26 care per resident per day shall be provided by a licensed nurse, a phys- 27 ical therapist, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist or a 28 recreational therapist, or any combination thereof. 29 (b) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three and thereafter 30 every nursing home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 31 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide [or], a 32 licensed nurse, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assistant, an 33 occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a respiratory 34 therapist, a respiratory therapy technician or a recreational therapist, 35 or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 3.5 hours, no less 36 than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be provided by a 37 certified nurse aide, a physical therapist assistant, an occupational 38 therapy assistant or a respiratory therapy technician or any combination 39 thereof, and no less than 1.1 hours of care per resident per day shall 40 be provided by a licensed nurse, a physical therapist, an occupational 41 therapist, a respiratory therapist, or a recreational therapist, or any 42 combination thereof. 43 (a) A nursing home shall post information regarding nurse staffing 44 that the facility is required to make available to the public under 45 section twenty-eight hundred five-t of this chapter. Such posting shall 46 also include therapist staffing levels as set forth in this section. 47 Information under this paragraph shall be displayed in a form approved 48 by the department and be posted in a manner which is visible and acces- 49 sible to residents, their families and the staff, as required by the 50 commissioner. 51 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
