A 1365: Requires nursing homes to designate dedicated storage spaces for the storage of the bodies of deceased persons; requires nursing homes to develop and submit plans to the department of health for the designation of such dedicated storage spaces; establishes requirements for such storage spaces.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1365 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, GIBBS, ZINERMAN, SEPTIMO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring nursing homes to designate dedicated storage spaces for the storage of the bodies of deceased persons The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 2810-a to read as follows: 3 § 2810-a. Nursing home special provisions. 1. (a) Upon the declaration 4 by the governor of a disaster emergency pursuant to section twenty-eight 5 of the executive law that a disaster has occurred or may be imminent, 6 and that such disaster may result in excess mortality that could over- 7 whelm the capacity of a facility to meet the demand for its services, 8 each nursing home shall develop and submit to the department a plan 9 designating a location for temporary on-site storage of bodies of 10 deceased persons who die at such nursing home until those bodies can be 11 safely transferred to appropriate parties for purposes of autopsy or 12 disposition. For the purposes of this section, "excess mortality" means 13 a sudden and sharp increase in the number of deaths beyond what is 14 expected based on recent mortality trends. 15 (b) Such plan shall include but not be limited to: 16 (i) the designation of a dedicated storage space. If a nursing home 17 does not currently have an appropriate space meeting the requirements of 18 paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the plan shall indicate how the nurs- 19 ing home will satisfy these requirements including through new 20 construction or modification of existing spaces or utilization of mobile 21 storage spaces pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision; 22 (ii) identification of the maximum number of bodies of deceased 23 persons that can be safely stored within the dedicated storage space; 24 and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00055-01-5 
 A. 1365 2 1 (iii) a description of the means by which the nursing home will ensure 2 that bodies of deceased persons are handled, stored, and transferred in 3 a safe and sanitary manner, including proper identification and minimiz- 4 ing the period of time for which each body is kept in the dedicated 5 storage space before transfer to other appropriate parties. 6 (c) A dedicated storage space designated for purposes of this subdivi- 7 sion shall be: 8 (i) located on or immediately adjacent to the grounds of the nursing 9 home; 10 (ii) isolated to the greatest extent practicable from public view and 11 patient or resident living and common areas, including preventing access 12 by persons other than those directly involved in storage or transport of 13 bodies of deceased persons; 14 (iii) sufficiently refrigerated for purposes of storing bodies of 15 deceased persons; and 16 (iv) of sufficient size and suitable construction to ensure lawful, 17 safe, and appropriate handling and storage of bodies of deceased 18 persons. 19 (d) If a nursing home cannot meet the requirements specified under 20 paragraph (c) of this subdivision through construction or modification 21 of existing spaces, such nursing home may designate and contract with a 22 third party to provide mobile storage spaces, provided that such mobile 23 storage spaces meet the requirements specified under paragraph (c) of 24 this subdivision. 25 (e) A storage space designated as a storage space for the bodies of 26 deceased persons pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed a 27 public morgue and shall not be required to store the bodies of deceased 28 persons who are not patients or residents of the nursing home. 29 (f) In addition to any other records required by law or regulation, a 30 nursing home shall maintain complete and accurate records relating to 31 storage and transfer of bodies of deceased persons for a period of five 32 years, including: 33 (i) death certificates or other documentation of declared date, time, 34 and to the extent known cause of death for each body of a deceased 35 person stored in the dedicated storage space; 36 (ii) documentation showing date and time of transfers from the dedi- 37 cated storage space to another appropriate party including identifica- 38 tion of individuals or entities who provided transport services; 39 (iii) copies of any permits or contracts relating to transfer of each 40 body of a deceased person including any contracts between the nursing 41 home and a provider of mobile storage spaces under paragraph (d) of this 42 subdivision. 43 (g) The department is authorized to inspect, at any time and without 44 prior notice, any dedicated storage space authorized under this subdivi- 45 sion. 46 (h) The commissioner shall make regulations under this section. 47 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 48 have become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of health may 49 make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to imple- 50 ment the provisions of this act on or before such effective date.