On May 5, 2021, the New York State legislature approved two bills with differing requirements related to clinical staffing for hospitals and nursing homes. With a goal of improving both patient and staff safety, as well as patient outcomes, the Governor is expected to sign each bill (A07119 and A00108B) into law soon. This Alert addresses the requirements for hospitals. Please see a separate Alert here addressing the nursing home staffing requirements.
Requirements for Hospitals
No later than January 1, 2022, general hospitals in New York will be required to establish a clinical staffing committee, half of which must be composed of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and other front-line staff providing direct patient care; the other half of the committee must include the hospital’s chief financial officer, chief nursing officer, and patient care unit directors or managers. The clinical staffing committee must:
- establish an annual clinical staffing plan for each care unit and shift based on patient need;
- take into account several factors specified in the law when developing the plan and include specific ratios, matrices or grids indicating how many patients are assigned to each nurse and the number of ancillary staff in each unit;
- submit the plan to the Department of Health (DOH) by July 1st of each year (with the first submission due 7/1/2022);
- implement the plan by January 1st of each year (with a first implementation date of January 1, 2023);
- post the plan conspicuously; and
- review the plan semi-annually.
DOH may require corrective action plans for non-compliance and may impose penalties pursuant to Public Health Law § 12 on hospitals that fail to submit or implement a corrective action plan. The legislation also prohibits retaliation and intimidation against employees who perform any responsibilities/duties related to the clinical staffing committee or against anyone who notifies the committee or hospital administration of a staffing concern.
Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact the Garfunkel Wild attorney with whom you regularly work, or contact us at [email protected].