June 13, 2021
On June 1, 2021, the NYS Dept. of Health passed new legislation addressing Personal Caregiving and Compassionate Caregiving Visitors in Adult Care Facilities during a public health emergency declared by NY Executive Law. We believe the intent of this legislation is to address future public health emergencies, in order to avoid some of the hardships and distress experienced during COVID-19. However, since Executive Order 202, declaring a state of emergency in NY, has been extended through July 5, 2021, these new rules could apply now if we had to suspend visitation for any reason. We are still seeking clarification on some of the language, but wanted to communicate what we do know since it needs to be implemented in a timely fashion.
The new law allows residents (or designated representatives if resident lacks capacity) to designate two individuals as personal caregiving visitors and two individuals as compassionate caregiving visitors, who will be afforded special visitation access during periods when visitation is otherwise limited or not permitted. Please note that as long as regular visitation is open, visits will continue to be conducted under our existing visitation policies & procedures.
A personal caregiving visitor is defined as a person who will provide care and support of a resident to benefit such resident’s mental, physical, or social well-being. A compassionate caregiving visitor is defined as personal caregiving provided in anticipation of the end of the resident’s life or in the instance of significant mental, physical or social decline or crisis.
Ingersoll will continue to have reasonable policies regarding hours, maximum number of visits per day, screening, mask wearing and social distancing. While personal caregiving visits can be suspended for various reasons (such as an increase in local infection rates, temporary inadequate staff capacity, an acute emergency situation), compassionate caregiving visits shall be permitted at all times, regardless of any general visitation restrictions in effect.
Residents can designate anyone they want in this role, including relatives or friends, but all such visitors must be willing to be subject to the screening protocols and other reasonable restrictions developed by Ingersoll Place, to protect all residents and to allow for appropriate supervision of persons entering the community. Designated visitors can be changed at any time. Additionally, Ingersoll Place will ask residents if they wish to update the designated persons at least every six months.
On Monday morning, we will be discussing this legislation with your loved ones and handing out the forms for them to complete over the next several days. For any resident we feel lacks the capacity to make this decision, we will be reaching out to their emergency contact and emailing the form to them. Our goal is to have all the forms completed and returned by the end of the week.
There are a lot of details to digest and questions to be answered. We will continue to provide updates and clarification as to how the new regulation will be integrated into existing visitation-related policies and procedures. Please contact Michelle Rearic, Business Office Manager or Caroline Thompson, Executive Director, with questions or concerns.
