BILL NUMBER: S7575
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health-
care facilities to maintain a fifty percent operating threshold of
certain reusable healthcare protective textiles in their inventory
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires healthcare facilities to maintain a 50% operating threshold of
reusable protective textiles in their inventory.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill adds a subdivision 14 to section 2803 of the
public health law to ensure all subsequently defined healthcare facili-
ties ( hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient care centers,
long-term care facilities, physical therapy centers, comprehensive
outpatient rehabilitation facilities, end-stage renal disease facili-
ties, hospice, physician's offices, non-physician provider's offices,
and laboratories) maintain an operating threshold of at least 50 percent
of all reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) as provided by a
certified hygienically clean laundry.
Section two of this bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The COV1D-19 Pandemic highlighted the hazards of relying on far-away
supply chains to meet the needs of healthcare systems, risking dangerous
shortages. These shortages were driven by a sudden increase in consump-
tion, compounded by factory closures and other disruption along the
global supply chain. Essential workers and the public rely on the ready
availability of safe PPE in our systems at all times. Given the likeli-
hood of future supply chain disruptions, and the inevitability of
continued impacts, of climate change, it is imperative systems develop
systems better equipped to withstand shortage.
Currently, reports indicate the U.S. market currently uses disposable
healthcare textiles (HCT) in more than 901 of uses in which reusable
HCTs would be an equivalent or superior substitute. The emergence of
COVID-19 led many to study alternatives to the current reliance on
disposable HCT, and recent results continue to show that where possible,
properly used and cleaned reusable PPE does not reduce efficacy to
levels that increase risk of pathogen exposure. Reusable textiles proc-
essed by Hygienically Clean certified laundries can form a safer and
more sustainable supply chain than often foreign-sourced disposable
HCTs.
During the pandemic many healthcare facilities addressed shortages by
supplementing disposables. with greater percentages of reusable
textiles. Research and recent practice show that a switch to higher
proportions of reusable textiles is efficient, effective, and safe.
Standardizing practices will help build up greater supply chain
sustain-ability, in turn protecting healthcare systems from risk of
future PPE shortages, saving money, and reducing waste.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.

Statutes affected:
S7575: 2803 public health law