STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 600 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, WEPRIN, SIMON, BERGER, JENSEN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing staffing standards for physical therapists, physical therapist assist- ants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recre- ational therapists at nursing homes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2895-b of the public health law is 2 amended by adding four new paragraphs (e), (f), (g) and (h) to read as 3 follows: 4 (e) "Physical therapist or physical therapist assistant" means any 5 person licensed or certified as such pursuant to article one hundred 6 thirty-six of the education law. 7 (f) "Occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant" means 8 any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice as such pursuant 9 to article one hundred fifty-six of the education law. 10 (g) "Respiratory therapist" or "respiratory therapy technician" means 11 any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice as such pursuant 12 to article one hundred sixty-four of the education law. 13 (h) "Recreational therapist" means any person with a bachelor's degree 14 with certification as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist from 15 the national council for therapeutic recreation certification. 16 § 2. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 2 of section 2895-b of the public 17 health law, as added by chapter 156 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 18 read as follows: 19 (h) The minimum staffing standard includes the hours which are 20 required to be reported by a nursing home to the federal Centers for 21 Medicare and Medicaid Services through the payroll based journal for EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01524-01-5
A. 600 2 1 long-term care for certified [nursing assistants and] nurses aides, 2 licensed nurses, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, 3 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory 4 therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recreational 5 therapists. In determining compliance with the staffing standards under 6 this subdivision, an individual shall not be counted while performing 7 administrative services as defined in the payroll based journal for 8 long-term care facilities. 9 § 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 3 and paragraph (a) of 10 subdivision 4 of section 2895-b of the public health law, as added by 11 chapter 156 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as follows: 12 (a) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-two every nursing 13 home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of 14 care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide, a licensed nurse 15 [or], a nurse aide, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assist- 16 ant, an occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a 17 respiratory therapist, a respiratory therapy technician, or a recre- 18 ational therapist, or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 19 3.5 hours, no less than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be 20 provided by a certified nurse aide [or], a nurse aide, a physical thera- 21 pist assistant, an occupational therapy assistant or a respiratory ther- 22 apy technician, or any combination thereof and no less than 1.1 hours of 23 care per resident per day shall be provided by a licensed nurse, a phys- 24 ical therapist, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist or a 25 recreational therapist, or any combination thereof. 26 (b) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three and thereafter 27 every nursing home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 28 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide [or], a 29 licensed nurse, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assistant, an 30 occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a respiratory 31 therapist, a respiratory therapy technician or a recreational therapist, 32 or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 3.5 hours, no less 33 than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be provided by a 34 certified nurse aide, a physical therapist assistant, an occupational 35 therapy assistant or a respiratory therapy technician or any combination 36 thereof, and no less than 1.1 hours of care per resident per day shall 37 be provided by a licensed nurse, a physical therapist, an occupational 38 therapist, a respiratory therapist, or a recreational therapist, or any 39 combination thereof. 40 (a) A nursing home shall post information regarding nurse staffing 41 that the facility is required to make available to the public under 42 section twenty-eight hundred five-t of this chapter. Such posting shall 43 also include therapist staffing levels as set forth in this section. 44 Information under this paragraph shall be displayed in a form approved 45 by the department and be posted in a manner which is visible and acces- 46 sible to residents, their families and the staff, as required by the 47 commissioner. 48 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.