Today, the New York State Assembly passed Assemblyman Charles D. Fall legislation (A.10470-A) requiring the operator of a healthcare facility to give a 30-day notice to the Department of Health and local officials on the closure, relocation or decertification of a clinic, urgent care center ambulatory health care practice, federally qualified health centers, general hospital ambulatory care clinics or care centers. Additionally, it would direct the Commissioner of Health to conduct a study on the delivery of healthcare on Staten Island. The vote passed unanimously 140-0.

• The study would not include ambulatory surgery centers or office-based surgery practices.
• The Commissioner of Health would be required to publish the study findings on the Department of Health’s website and report to the Governor and the Legislature on the findings.

Senator Diane Savino sponsored the legislation (S.8719) and has made it a priority for its passage for executive action. The legislation was inspired by the temporary closure of a CityMD Urgent Care facility on the North Shore. After a concerted effort lead by Assemblyman Fall and all the other elected officials on Staten Island, the operator of the facility reopened the urgent care clinic.

“Since there are no public hospitals located on Staten Island, many residents rely on clinics, urgent care, and ambulatory health care for a wide variety of medical services, including physicals, injury related and illness diagnosis and care, rapid lab tests and screening, pediatric care and women's wellness needs for some of the most vulnerable residents.

During this pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc on our daily lives, we need to make sure that residents continue to receive their healthcare needs. Having residents who may be elderly or lack reliable transportation to travel to another facility during heightened social distancing, stay- at-home orders or any other circumstance is detrimental to the well-being of all New York residents, especially those residing on the North Shore of Staten Island,” said Assemblyman Charles D. Fall.