Raised Bill No. 369 is a legislative proposal designed to improve the safety of home care workers by requiring home health care agencies and home health aide agencies to collect and provide detailed information about clients and their environments. This includes the client's psychiatric history, history of violence or substance use, infections and treatments, stability of diagnoses or symptoms, and information about others at the service location, as well as details about potential safety hazards at the location. The bill also mandates staff training in line with CDC and OSHA guidelines, monthly safety assessments, the provision of safety check mechanisms like mobile apps and GPS-enabled wearable devices, and the reporting of any abuse against staff to the Commissioner of Public Health. It includes insertions to increase fees for agencies providing escorts for safety and deletions related to fee differentials based on patient age for complex care nursing services.

Additionally, the bill requires group health insurance policies to cover the costs of escorts for home health care staff safety, effective January 1, 2025, and establishes a home care staff safety grant program, administered by the Commissioner of Public Health, starting July 1, 2024. The program will provide grants for purchasing safety technology and is funded with one million dollars for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. A working group will be created to study staff safety issues, including representatives from various stakeholders, and is tasked with holding its first meeting within 60 days of the bill's passage and submitting a report by January 1, 2025. The bill does not include any deletions from current law.