Public Hearing: Nursing Homes and Home Care During COVID-19

If you are concerned about nursing homes and home care during COVID-19, don’t miss your chance to participate in public hearings on the matter. Those who wish to be invited to provide testimony can do so by filling out the form below and sending it back to the contacts provided.  See below for all the details and please share with your networks, as appropriate.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGING
SENATE COMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON AGING
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION

SUBJECT: Nursing homes, assisted living, home health care and COVID-19

PURPOSE: To receive testimony on COVID-19’s impact on nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health care, and recommendations for improving systems, protocols and practices now and for the future.

August 3, 2020
10 AM
Watch online @ www.nyassembly.gov (click “watch live”)

 

August 10, 2020
10 AM
Watch online @ www.nyassembly.gov (click “watch live”)

ORAL TESTIMONY BY INVITATION ONLY

According to the Department of Health, as of July 13, 2020, there were approximately 6,300 individuals who have died or are presumed to have died of COVID-19 who resided in residential health care facilities (i.e., nursing homes), representing approximately 25% of the total COVID-19 fatalities in the state of New York.. DOH has not disclosed the number of nursing home residents who were transferred to a hospital because of COVID-19 and died there. Data for deaths among home care patients is unknown.

Many observers believe government policies and provider practices, in place long before and during COVID-19, contributed to these bad outcomes within the long term care community.

These hearings seeks to review the impact of these policies and practices, including staffing levels, funding, and DOH enforcement of quality and safety standards. The hearings will also review current developments including distribution of critical medical supplies (including PPE), and regulations implemented during the State of Emergency. We need to understand what got us into this situation and to identify what steps can be taken to improve things for the future.

Persons invited to testify, or who want to be invited to testify, should complete and return the enclosed reply form (below) as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified of means by which to testify and/or in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation. A zoom link will be provided to witnesses.

Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes’ duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

Attendees and participants at any legislative public hearing should be aware that these proceedings are video broadcast and recorded. Their likenesses may be included in any video coverage shown on television or the internet.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

Richard N. Gottfried
Chair, Assembly
Committee on Health

Persons invited to testify, or who want to be invited to testify, at the public hearing on COVID-19 in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home health care are requested to complete this reply form(below) as soon as possible and email it to:

Carolyn Sheridan
Policy Analyst
Senate Majority Counsel’s Office
Capitol – Room 500
Albany, NY 12248
Email: csherida@nysenate.gov
Phone: (518) 455-2872

Anthony Kergaravat
Principal Analyst
Assembly Program and Counsel
Room 442 – Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Email: kergaravata@nyassembly.gov
Phone: (518) 455-4371

☐ I have been invited and plan to make a public statement at the hearing. My statement will be limited to 5 minutes, and I will answer any questions which may arise.

☐ I wish to be invited to testify. My statement will be limited to 5 minutes, and I will answer any questions which may arise.

____ August 3, 2020, (cutoff for response July 30)

____ August 10, 2020, (cutoff for response August 6)

☐ I will address my remarks to the following subjects:

_________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

☐ I would like to be added to the Committee mailing list for notices and reports.

☐ I would like to be removed from the Committee mailing list.

☐ I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of assistance required:

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

ALL INFORMATION BELOW MUST BE COMPLETED:

NAME: ___________________________________

TITLE: ___________________________________

ORGANIZATION: ___________________________

ADDRESS: ______________________________

EMAIL:_________________________________

TELEPHONE: _____________________________

 

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