BILL NUMBER: S9087
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to independent quali-
ty monitors for residential health care facilities
 
PURPOSE:
To strengthen and clarify the Department of Health's authority to
require independent quality monitors in residential health care facili-
ties with serious and recurring deficiencies, and to ensure that moni-
toring leads to sustained improvements in resident care, staffing, and
safety.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill amends section 2803-w of the public health law governing the
use of independent quality monitors in residential health care facili-
ties. It clarifies when monitoring may be required and establishes clear
expectations for what monitoring must include once imposed.
The bill requires that mandatory corrective plans address core opera-
tional failures that place residents at risk, including excessive admin-
istrative spending unrelated to direct care, compliance with minimum
staffing standards already established in law, required infrastructure
repairs, measurable performance benchmarks, and defined deadlines for
remediation.
The bill strengthens the role of independent quality monitors by requir-
ing regular on-site inspections, prompt reporting of conditions that
pose immediate danger to residents, and continued oversight until
sustained compliance is demonstrated. It establishes minimum monitoring
periods, objective criteria for terminating monitoring, and post-moni-
toring reporting requirements to prevent backsliding.
The bill also enhances transparency and accountability by routing moni-
tor payments through the Department of Health, requiring public report-
ing on monitored facilities, and authorizing civil penalties and addi-
tional enforcement actions for noncompliance.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Recent experience in Central New York highlights the need for clearer
and more effective oversight tools for residential health care facili-
ties with persistent quality and safety problems. In Syracuse, large
nursing homes have cycled on and off federal lists identifying facili-
ties with serious deficiencies, reflecting the difficulty of achieving
lasting improvement through inspections and short-term enforcement
actions alone.
The Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a major provider in
the region, has faced repeated findings of serious operational deficien-
cies over a number of years and was ultimately designated a federal
Special Focus Facility. Following a state investigation, the facility
entered into a settlement that included the appointment of independent
health and financial monitors. That intervention demonstrated the value
of sustained, independent oversight in cases involving chronic noncom-
pliance.
At the same time, the experience showed that existing law provides
limited structure around how monitoring is conducted and when it should
end. Without clear standards, facilities may temporarily improve while
under scrutiny, only to regress once oversight is lifted. This bill
responds by strengthening the independent monitoring framework to focus
on staffing, direct care, and measurable performance, and by requiring
sustained compliance before monitoring can be teiiiiinated.
By clarifying expectations and reinforcing accountability, this legis-
lation helps ensure that independent quality monitoring serves as a
meaningful tool for protecting residents, supporting caregivers, and
restoring public confidence in long-tem' care facilities that have expe-
rienced serious and recurring problems.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be detefIllined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S9087: 2803-w public health law