N.Y. Public Health Law Section 2801-H
Personal caregiving and compassionate caregiving visitors to nursing home residents during declared local or state health emergencies

§ 2801-h. Personal caregiving visitors for nursing home residents during public health emergencies.

1.

As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a)

“personal caregiving visitor” means a family member, close friend, or legal guardian of a resident designated by the resident or the resident’s lawful representative to assist with personal caregiving or compassionate caregiving for the resident;

(b)

“personal caregiving” means care and support of a resident by a personal caregiving visitor that is provided to benefit such resident’s mental, physical, or social well-being;

(c)

“compassionate caregiving” means personal caregiving that is provided in anticipation of the end of a resident’s life or in the instance of significant mental, physical, or social decline or crisis of a resident;

(d)

“resident” means a resident of a nursing home; in relation to a personal caregiving visitor, “resident” means the resident to whom the personal caregiving visitor has been designated to assist with personal caregiving or compassionate caregiving; and

(e)

“visit” includes assisting with personal caregiving or compassionate caregiving for a resident.

2.

During a public health emergency declared under section twenty-four or section twenty-eight of the executive law personal caregiving visitors may visit residents of nursing homes, in compliance with federal law and regulations and state regulations made under this section. Nursing homes shall admit any personal caregiving visitor who is in compliance with applicable requirements under this section.

3.

The commissioner shall make regulations under this section which shall:

(a)

require nursing homes to allow personal caregiving visitors to visit residents subject to this section;

(b)

set forth procedures for the designation of personal caregiving visitors by residents or resident’s lawful representatives, which:

(i)

shall include documentation of each designated personal caregiving visitor in the facility records;

(ii)

shall include procedures to ensure that the preferences of the resident regarding the designation of a personal caregiving visitor are respected; and

(iii)

may include, in appropriate circumstances, requiring a health or mental health professional licensed or certified under the education law to state that the personal caregiving will substantially benefit the resident’s mental, physical, or social well-being. A nursing home shall not require that the health professional be affiliated with such nursing home;

(c)

set forth procedures for changing a personal caregiving visitor designation;

(d)

provide that a resident shall be entitled to designate at least two personal caregiving visitors;

(e)

provide that personal caregiving visitors shall be exempt from prohibitions on visiting residents at nursing homes, subject to the limitations and requirements of this section;

(f)

set forth the circumstances under which visiting by personal caregiving visitors may be temporarily limited or suspended at a nursing home to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents, including, but not limited to, local infection rates, temporary inadequate staff capacity, or an acute emergency situation;

(g)

require, at a minimum, that all personal caregiving visitors follow safety protocols which may include, but need not be limited to:

(i)

testing for communicable diseases;

(ii)

checking body temperature upon entry into the nursing home;

(iii)

health screenings upon entry into the nursing home;

(iv)

appropriate use of personal protective equipment;

(v)

social distancing (except as necessary for personal caregiving by the personal caregiving visitor for the resident); and

(vi)

any other requirement the department deems appropriate;

(h)

set forth standards for frequency and duration of visits by personal caregiving visitors at nursing homes;

(i)

set forth standards for limiting the total number of personal caregiving visitors for a resident and/or limiting the total number of personal caregiving visitors allowed to visit a nursing home at any one time based on the circumstances of the residents and the nursing home;

(j)

require personal caregiving and compassionate caregiving to be documented in the resident’s individualized comprehensive plan of care; and

(k)

make appropriate provisions for compassionate caregiving.

4.

The department shall post the requirements consistent with regulations, on its website, including any requirements as to time periods and region.

5.

This section does not require the medical assistance program to cover personal caregiving or compassionate caregiving and such caregiving shall not be reimbursed under the medical assistance program.

6.

This section does not relieve any nursing home, or nursing home operator or administrator, of any obligation or responsibility imposed by any other applicable law or regulation.

7.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit access by any visitor to a facility that would otherwise be permitted under federal or state law or regulation.

Source: Section 2801-H — Personal caregiving and compassionate caregiving visitors to nursing home residents during declared local or state health emergencies, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2801-H (updated Apr. 2, 2021; accessed Oct. 26, 2024).

2800
Declaration of policy and statement of purpose 2801
Definitions 2801‑A
Establishment or incorporation of hospitals 2801‑B
Improper practices in hospital staff appointments and extension of professional privileges prohibited 2801‑C
Injunctions 2801‑D
Private actions by patients of residential health care facilities 2801‑E
Voluntary residential health care facility rightsizing demonstration program 2801‑F
Residential health care facility quality incentive payment program 2801‑G
Community forum on hospital closure 2801‑H
Personal caregiving and compassionate caregiving visitors to nursing home residents during declared local or state health emergencies 2802
Approval of construction 2802‑A
Transitional care unit demonstration program 2802‑B
Health equity impact assessments 2803
Commissioner and council 2803‑A
Authority to contract 2803‑AA
Sickle cell disease information distribution 2803‑AA*2
Nursing home infection control competency audit 2803‑B
Uniform reports and accounting systems for hospital costs 2803‑C
Rights of patients in certain medical facilities 2803‑C‑1
Rights of patients in certain medical facilities 2803‑C‑2
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long-term care facility residents’ bill of rights 2803‑D
Reporting abuses of persons receiving care or services in residential health care facilities 2803‑E
Residential health care facilities 2803‑E*2
Reporting incidents of possible professional misconduct 2803‑F
Respite projects 2803‑G
Board of visitors in county owned residential health care facility 2803‑H
Health related facility 2803‑I
General hospital inpatient discharge review program 2803‑J
Information for maternity patients 2803‑J*2
Nursing home nurse aide registry 2803‑K
In-patient nasogastric feeding procedures 2803‑L
Community service plans 2803‑M
Discharge of hospital patients to adult homes 2803‑N
Hospital care for maternity patients 2803‑O
Hospital care for mastectomy, lumpectomy, and lymph node dissection patients 2803‑O‑1
Required protocols for fetal demise 2803‑P
Disclosure of information concerning family violence 2803‑Q
Family councils in residential health care facilities 2803‑R
Dissemination of information about the abandoned infant protection act 2803‑S
Access to product recall information 2803‑T
Preadmission information 2803‑U
Hospital substance use disorder policies and procedures 2803‑V
Lymphedema information distribution 2803‑V*2
Standing orders for newborn care in a hospital 2803‑W
Independent quality monitors for residential health care facilities 2803‑W*2
Disclosure of information concerning pregnancy complications 2803‑X
Requirements related to nursing homes and related assets and operations 2803‑Y
Provision of residency agreement 2803‑Z
Transfer, discharge and voluntary discharge requirements for residential health care facilities 2803‑Z*2
Antimicrobial resistance prevention and education 2804
Units for hospital and health-related affairs 2804‑A
State task force on clinical practice guidelines and medical technology assessment 2805
Approval of hospitals 2805‑A
Disclosure of financial transactions 2805‑B
Admission of patients and emergency treatment of nonadmitted patients 2805‑C
Every private proprietary nursing home having a capacity of eighty patients or more may have a licensed medical doctor in attendance, upo... 2805‑D
Limitation of medical, dental or podiatric malpractice action based on lack of informed consent 2805‑E
Reports of residential health care facilities 2805‑F
Money deposited or advanced for admittance to nursing homes 2805‑G
Maintenance of records 2805‑H
Immunizations 2805‑I
Treatment of sexual offense victims and maintenance of evidence in a sexual offense 2805‑J
Medical, dental and podiatric malpractice prevention program 2805‑K
Investigations prior to granting or renewing privileges 2805‑L
Adverse event reporting 2805‑M
Confidentiality 2805‑N
Child abuse prevention 2805‑O
Identification of veterans and their spouses by nursing homes, residential health care facilities, and adult care facilities 2805‑P
Emergency treatment of rape survivors 2805‑Q
Hospital visitation by domestic partner 2805‑R
Patients unable to verbally communicate 2805‑S
Circulating nurse required 2805‑T
Clinical staffing committees and disclosure of nursing quality indicators 2805‑U
Credentialing and privileging of health care practitioners providing telemedicine services 2805‑V
Observation services 2805‑W
Patient notice of observation services 2805‑X
Hospital-home care-physician collaboration program 2805‑Y
Identification and assessment of human trafficking victims 2805‑Z
Hospital domestic violence policies and procedures 2806
Hospital operating certificates 2806‑A
Temporary operator 2806‑B
Residential health care facilities 2807
Hospital reimbursement provisions 2807‑A
General hospital nineteen hundred eighty-six and nineteen hundred eighty-seven inpatient rates and charges 2807‑AA
Nurse loan repayment program 2807‑B
Outstanding payments and reports due under subdivision eighteen of section twenty-eight hundred seven-c, sections twenty-eight hundred se... 2807‑C
General hospital inpatient reimbursement for annual rate periods beginning on or after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight 2807‑D
Hospital assessments 2807‑D‑1
Hospital quality contributions 2807‑DD
Temporary nursing home stability contributions 2807‑E
Uniform bills 2807‑F
Health maintenance organization payment factor 2807‑FF
New York managed care organization provider tax 2807‑I
Service and quality improvement grants 2807‑J
Patient services payments 2807‑K
General hospital indigent care pool 2807‑L
Health care initiatives pool distributions 2807‑M
Distribution of the professional education pools 2807‑N
Palliative care education and training 2807‑O
Early intervention services pool 2807‑P
Comprehensive diagnostic and treatment centers indigent care program 2807‑R
Funding for expansion of cancer services 2807‑S
Professional education pool funding 2807‑T
Assessments on covered lives 2807‑U
Transfers for tax credits 2807‑V
Tobacco control and insurance initiatives pool distributions 2807‑W
High need indigent care adjustment pool 2807‑X
Grants for long term care demonstration projects 2807‑Y
Pool administration 2807‑Z
Review of eligible federally qualified health center capital projects 2808
Residential health care facilities 2808‑A
Liability of certain persons 2808‑B
Certification of financial statements and financial information 2808‑C
Reimbursement of general hospital inpatient services 2808‑D
Nursing home quality improvement demonstration program 2808‑E
Residential health care for children with medical fragility in transition to young adults and young adults with medical fragility demonst... 2808‑E*2
Nursing home ratings 2809
Residential health care facilities 2810
Residential health care facilities 2811
Discounts and splitting fees with medical referral services 2812
Construction 2813
Separability 2814
Health networks, global budgeting, and health care demonstrations 2815
Health facility restructuring program 2815‑A
Community health care revolving capital fund 2816
Statewide planning and research cooperative system 2816‑A
Cardiac services information 2817
Community health centers capital program 2818
Health care efficiency and affordability law of New Yorkers (HEAL NY) capital grant program 2819
Hospital acquired infection reporting 2820
Home based primary care for the elderly demonstration project 2821
State electronic health records (EHR) loan program 2822
Residential care off-site facility demonstration project 2823
Supportive housing development program 2824
Central service technicians 2824*2
Surgical technology and surgical technologists 2825
Capital restructuring financing program 2825‑A
Health care facility transformation program: Kings county project 2825‑B
Oneida county health care facility transformation program: Oneida county project 2825‑C
Essential health care provider support program 2825‑D
Health care facility transformation program: statewide 2825‑E
Health care facility transformation program: statewide II 2825‑F
Health care facility transformation program: statewide III 2825‑G
Health care facility transformation program: statewide IV 2825‑H
Health care facility transformation program: statewide V 2825‑I
Healthcare safety net transformation program 2826
Temporary adjustment to reimbursement rates 2827
Plant-based food options 2828
Residential health care facilities 2828*2
Essential support persons allowed for individuals with disabilities during a state of emergency 2829
Nursing homes 2830
Surgical smoke evacuation 2830*2
Regulation of the billing of facility fees
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Accessed:
Oct. 26, 2024

Last modified:
Apr. 2, 2021

§ 2801-H’s source at nysenate​.gov

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