O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-185—SB 1030
Public Health Committee
Appropriations Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING NURSING HOMES AND DEMENTIA SPECIAL
CARE UNITS
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§ 1 — INFECTION PREVENTIONISTS
Requires nursing homes and dementia special care units to employ a full-time infection and
prevention control specialist who must work a rotating schedule that covers each eight-hour shift
at least once monthly
§ 2 — LOCAL EMERGENCY OPER ATIONS PLAN
Requires a nursing home’s and dementia special care unit’s administrative head to provide its
emergency operations plan to the municipality where it is located to help the municipality develop
the local emergency operations plan required under the Interstate Mutual Aid Compact
§ 3 — PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Requires nursing homes to maintain at least a two-month supply of personal protective equipment
for their staff
§ 4 — INTRAVENOUS LINES
Requires a nursing home’s administrative head to ensure there is at least one staff member or
contracted professional available on-call during each shift who is licensed or certified to start an
intravenous line
§ 5 — NURSING HOME INFECTION PREVENTION AND CO NTROL
COMMITTEES
Generally, requires a nursing home’s infection prevention and control committee to meet at least
monthly, and, during an infectious disease outbreak, daily
§ 6 — INFECTIOUS DISEASE TESTING IN NURSING HOMES
Requires nursing homes to test staff and residents for an infectious disease during an outbreak at
an appropriate frequency determined by DPH
§ 7 — FAMILY COUNCILS
Requires each nursing home’s and dementia special care unit’s administrative head, by January
1, 2022, to encourage and assist in establishing a family council to encourage and support open
communication between the facility and residents’ families and friends
§ 8 — RESIDENT VISITATION AT NURSING HOMES
Requires nursing homes, by January 1, 2022, to take certain actions to ensure residents have
regular opportunities for in-person and virtual visitation with family members and friends and
that their social and emotional needs are met
§ 9 — PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Requires the Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee, by October 1, 2021, to amend the
plan for emergency responses to public health emergencies to include responses related to nursing
homes and dementia special care units and providers of community-based services to their
residents
§ 10 — NURSING HOME MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS
Requires DPH, by January 1, 2022, to modify nursing home daily minimum staffing levels to
require at least three hours of direct care per resident
§ 11 — FUNDING FOR NURSING HOME INFRASTRUCTURE
IMPROVEMENTS
Requires DPH to seek available federal or state funds for nursing home infrastructure
improvements and report to the Public Health Committee by January 1, 2022
SUMMARY: This act makes various unrelated changes concerning nursing
homes and dementia special care units and the delivery of long-term care services.
Under the act, a “dementia special care unit” is a unit in an assisted living facility
that locks, secures, segregates, or provides special programs or units for residents
diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another similar
disorder. The unit or program must be one that prevents or limits a resident’s
access outside the designated or separated area or advertises or markets itself as
providing specialized care or services for those with Alzheimer’s disease or
dementia.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021, except the provisions concerning (1) the
Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee (§ 9) and funding for nursing
home infrastructure improvements (§ 11) take effect upon passage and (2)
infectious disease testing in nursing homes (§ 6) take effect August 5, 2021,
pursuant to the governor’s Executive Order 13A.
§ 1 — INFECTION PREVENTIONISTS
Requires nursing homes and dementia special care units to employ a full-time infection and
prevention control specialist who must work a rotating schedule that covers each eight-hour shift
at least once monthly
The act requires each nursing home and dementia special care unit (hereafter
“facility”) to employ a full-time infection and prevention control specialist
responsible for:
1. ongoing administrator and employee training on infection prevention and
control using multiple training methods, including in-person training and
providing written materials in English and Spanish;
2. (a) including information on infection prevention and control in the
documentation the facility provides to residents regarding their rights
while in the facility and (b) posting the information in areas visible to
residents;
3. participating as a member of the facility’s infection prevention and control
committee and reporting to the committee at its regular meetings on the
administrator and employee training he or she provided as described O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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above;
4. providing training on infection prevention and control methods to the
facility’s supplemental or replacement staff in the event of an infectious
disease outbreak or other situation reducing the facility’s staffing levels;
and
5. any other duties or responsibilities the facility deems appropriate.
Under the act, each facility must require its infection and prevention control
specialist to work on a rotating schedule that ensures he or she covers each eight-
hour shift at least once monthly to ensure compliance with relevant infection
control standards.
§ 2 — LOCAL EMERGENCY OPER ATIONS PLAN
Requires a nursing home’s and dementia special care unit’s administrative head to provide its
emergency operations plan to the municipality where it is located to help the municipality develop
the local emergency operations plan required under the Interstate Mutual Aid Compact
The act requires the administrative head of each nursing home and dementia
special care unit to provide its emergency operations plan to the municipality in
which the facility is located. The facility must do this by January 1, 2022, to assist
the municipality in developing its emergency operations plan required under the
Interstate Mutual Aid Compact. This compact provides a legal framework for
municipalities to request and provide mutual aid when any member municipality
declares a local civil preparedness emergency.
§ 3 — PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Requires nursing homes to maintain at least a two-month supply of personal protective equipment
for their staff
The act requires each nursing home’s administrative head to ensure that the
(1) home maintains at least a two-month supply of personal protective equipment
(PPE) for its staff and (2) PPE is of various sizes based on staff’s needs.
Under the act, PPE cannot be shared among facility staff and may only be
reused in accordance with the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s strategies to optimize PPE supplies in health care settings.
The act also requires administrative heads to hold staff fittings for N95 masks
or higher rated masks certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health, at a frequency the Department of Public Health (DPH) determines.
The act requires the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland
Security, by January 1, 2022, to consult with DPH and establish a process to
evaluate, provide feedback on, approve, and distribute PPE for use by nursing
homes in a public health emergency.
§ 4 — INTRAVENOUS LINES
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Requires a nursing home’s administrative head to ensure there is at least one staff member or
contracted professional available on-call during each shift who is licensed or certified to start an
intravenous line
The act requires each nursing home’s administrative head to ensure that there
is at least one staff member or contracted professional available on-call during
each shift who is licensed or certified to start an intravenous line.
§ 5 — NURSING HOME INFECTI ON PREVENTION AND CO NTROL
COMMITTEES
Generally, requires a nursing home’s infection prevention and control committee to meet at least
monthly, and, during an infectious disease outbreak, daily
The act requires a nursing home’s infection prevention and control committee
to meet at least monthly, and, during an infectious disease outbreak, daily. But if
daily meetings disrupt the home’s operations, the committee must instead meet at
least weekly.
Under the act, the committee is responsible for establishing infection
prevention and control protocols for the nursing home and monitoring the home’s
infection prevention and control specialist. It must also evaluate (1) the
implementation and outcome of these protocols and (2) whether the specialist is
satisfactorily performing his or her responsibilities. The committee must conduct
this evaluation at least annually and after every infectious disease outbreak at the
home.
§ 6 — INFECTIOUS DISEASE TESTING IN NURSING HOMES
Requires nursing homes to test staff and residents for an infectious disease during an outbreak at
an appropriate frequency determined by DPH
The act requires nursing homes to test staff and residents for an infectious
disease during an outbreak. They must do so at an appropriate frequency
determined by DPH based on the circumstances surrounding the outbreak and the
impact of testing on controlling it.
§ 7 — FAMILY COUNCILS
Requires each nursing home’s and dementia special care unit’s administrative head, by January
1, 2022, to encourage and assist in establishing a family council to encourage and support open
communication between the facility and residents’ families and friends
The act requires each nursing home’s and dementia special care unit’s
administrative head, by January 1, 2022, to encourage and assist in the
establishment of a family council to support open communication between the
facility and each resident’s family members and friends. Under the act, a “family
council” is an independent, self-determining group of residents’ family members
and friends that is geared to meeting the needs and interests of residents and their
families and friends. O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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§ 8 — RESIDENT VISITATION AT NURSING HOMES
Requires nursing homes, by January 1, 2022, to take certain actions to ensure residents have
regular opportunities for in-person and virtual visitation with family members and friends and
that their social and emotional needs are met
The act requires each nursing home’s administrative head, by January 1, 2022,
to ensure that each resident’s care plan includes the following:
1. measures to address the resident’s social, emotional, and mental health
needs, including opportunities for social connection and strategies to
minimize social isolation;
2. visitation protocols and any other information relevant to visitation written
in plain language and in a form and manner that may be reasonably
understood by the resident and his or her family and friends; and
3. information on the role of the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman, including the office’s contact information.
The act also requires each administrative head, by the same date, to ensure
that the home’s staff is educated on best practices for addressing residents’ social,
emotional, and mental health needs and all components of person-centered care.
§ 9 — PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS ADVISORY COMMITTE E
Requires the Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee, by October 1, 2021, to amend the
plan for emergency responses to public health emergencies to include responses related to nursing
homes and dementia special care units and providers of community-based services to their
residents
The act requires the state’s Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee,
by October 1, 2021, to amend the plan for emergency responses to public health
emergencies to include a plan for emergency responses related to nursing homes
and dementia special care units and those who provide community-based services
to their residents.
By law, the committee advises DPH on responses to public health
emergencies. It consists of the DPH and emergency services and public protection
commissioners; the six top legislative leaders; the chairs and ranking members of
the Public Health, Public Safety, and Judiciary committees; representatives of
municipal and district health directors appointed by the DPH commissioner; and
any other organizations or individuals the DPH commissioner deems relevant to
the effort.
§ 10 — NURSING HOME MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS
Requires DPH, by January 1, 2022, to modify nursing home daily minimum staffing levels to
require at least three hours of direct care per resident
The act requires DPH, by January 1, 2022, to modify minimum staffing levels
in nursing homes to: O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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1. require at least three hours of direct care per resident per day and
2. modify staffing level requirements for social workers and recreational
staff to require (a) one full-time social worker per 60 residents and (b)
recreational staffing levels lower than current requirements, as the DPH
commissioner deems appropriate.
The act also requires the DPH commissioner to adopt regulations to
implement the above requirements.
Prior DPH regulations required nursing homes to maintain aggregate licensed
nurse and nurse’s aide staffing levels of at least 1.9 hours of direct care per
resident per day (Conn. Agencies Reg., § 19-13-D8t(m)).
§ 11 — FUNDING FOR NURSING HOME INFRASTRUCTURE
IMPROVEMENTS
Requires DPH to seek available federal or state funds for nursing home infrastructure
improvements and report to the Public Health Committee by January 1, 2022
The act requires DPH to seek available federal or state funds for infrastructure
improvements to the state’s nursing homes. It requires the commissioner, by
January 1, 2022, to report to the Public Health Committee on her success in
accessing such funding.