Over the past two years, our state has had to process immeasurable loss, trauma and grief due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the most gravely affected were our older loved ones, including thousands living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities who lost their lives due to the virus. This devastating tragedy helped shed light on a myriad of long-standing issues with these facilities, ranging from insufficient staffing to predatory practices that put profits over the comfort and safety of residents. To ensure that we never again have to endure such a tragic and preventable loss of life, my Assembly colleagues and I took action to pass a series of laws to reform nursing homes.

To ensure the highest quality of health and well-being for nursing home residents, I helped pass a law requiring safe staffing standards in these facilities. The staffing standards include 3.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day, with at least 2.2 hours provided by nursing assistants and at least 1.1 hours provided by licensed practical nurses or registered nurses (Ch. 156 of 2021). Another law requires the Public Health and Health Planning Council to review ownership changes for nursing homes with greater transparency (Ch. 102 of 2021). To help protect individuals, I helped pass a measure that establishes state guidelines for the transfer, discharge and voluntary discharge of individuals from residential health care facilities (Ch. 80 of 2021). To promote transparency, I also helped pass a law that requires residential care facilities to provide residents and their families with information on where and how complaints, citations, inspections, enforcement actions and penalties taken against the facility can be found as part of the intake process (Ch. 344 of 2021). Finally, to bolster the mental and emotional health of residents, I championed a law establishing guidelines to safely allow personal and compassionate caregiving by family members and loved ones at nursing homes and adult care facilities (Ch. 89 of 2021).

My Assembly colleagues and I are currently working to pass additional legislation to support and supplement the laws mentioned above. One bill would require residential health care facilities to notify all residents and their families or caregivers within 12 hours of an infection being detected in the facility (A.6052). Another would direct the state Department of Health to make the results of all nursing home and residential health care facility inspections publicly available (A.1010A). Finally, another measure would prohibit both the establishment of new for-profit nursing home licenses and the expansion of existing for-profit nursing homes (A.5842).

I extend my condolences to those who lost family and loved ones residing in nursing homes due to COVID-19. They deserved better, and so do you. These reforms will help prevent future tragedies and help increase the quality of life of nursing home residents and their families alike. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this legislation or any other issue, feel free to contact my office at 315-452-1115 or StirpeA@nyassembly.gov.