BILL NUMBER: S6457
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the elder law, in relation to
coordination between the department of health and the state long-term
care ombudsperson regarding residential health care facilities
 
PURPOSE:
To increase the role of the long-term care ombudsman office in the
licensing, certification, or recertification, or issuance of a certif-
icate of need, to residential health care facilities.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends the public health law to require the department of
health to consult with the state ombudsman about the record of
complaints and violations by facilities or facility operators when
licensing, certifying, or granting a certificate of need for a residen-
tial health care facility.
Section 2: amends the elder law to add such consultations with the
department of health to the state ombudsman's duties.
Section 3: provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The state long-term care ombudsman program is one of the state's most
effective tools for ensuring accountability inside nursing homes.
Ombudsman staff and volunteers are active in most of the state's nursing
homes, working to ensure residents' rights are respected- and working
with facilities and the Department of Health to address issues when they
are not. The state office tracks complaints, regularly consults with
regional offices, and has significant insight into the challenges facing
various facilities and facility operators. The Department of Health is
the agency responsible for ensuring that nursing homes are operating
acceptably, including when they issue or renew licenses and grant
certificates of need for new facilities, but does not regularly consult
the state office as part of this process. To ensure that the department
is considering all relevant information in licensing, certifying, or
granting a certificate of need, this legislation requires that the
department consult with the state ombudsman as part of that process,
especially about operators' compliance with laws and the history of
complaints tracked by the ombudsman program.
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
Minimal.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.