S 8286: Includes physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recreational therapists within the existing statutory staffing standards for nursing homes.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8286 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE May 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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 22 long-term care for certified [nursing assistants and] nurses aides, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01524-01-5 
 S. 8286 2 1 licensed nurses, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, 2 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, respiratory 3 therapists, respiratory therapy technicians, and recreational 4 therapists. In determining compliance with the staffing standards under 5 this subdivision, an individual shall not be counted while performing 6 administrative services as defined in the payroll based journal for 7 long-term care facilities. 8 § 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 3 and paragraph (a) of 9 subdivision 4 of section 2895-b of the public health law, as added by 10 chapter 156 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as follows: 11 (a) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-two every nursing 12 home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of 13 care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide, a licensed nurse 14 [or], a nurse aide, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assist- 15 ant, an occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a 16 respiratory therapist, a respiratory therapy technician, or a recre- 17 ational therapist, or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 18 3.5 hours, no less than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be 19 provided by a certified nurse aide [or], a nurse aide, a physical thera- 20 pist assistant, an occupational therapy assistant or a respiratory ther- 21 apy technician, or any combination thereof and no less than 1.1 hours of 22 care per resident per day shall be provided by a licensed nurse, a phys- 23 ical therapist, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist or a 24 recreational therapist, or any combination thereof. 25 (b) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three and thereafter 26 every nursing home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 27 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide [or], a 28 licensed nurse, a physical therapist, a physical therapist assistant, an 29 occupational therapist, an occupational therapy assistant, a respiratory 30 therapist, a respiratory therapy technician or a recreational therapist, 31 or any combination thereof; provided that out of such 3.5 hours, no less 32 than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be provided by a 33 certified nurse aide, a physical therapist assistant, an occupational 34 therapy assistant or a respiratory therapy technician or any combination 35 thereof, and no less than 1.1 hours of care per resident per day shall 36 be provided by a licensed nurse, a physical therapist, an occupational 37 therapist, a respiratory therapist, or a recreational therapist, or any 38 combination thereof. 39 (a) A nursing home shall post information regarding nurse staffing 40 that the facility is required to make available to the public under 41 section twenty-eight hundred five-t of this chapter. Such posting shall 42 also include therapist staffing levels as set forth in this section. 43 Information under this paragraph shall be displayed in a form approved 44 by the department and be posted in a manner which is visible and acces- 45 sible to residents, their families and the staff, as required by the 46 commissioner. 47 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.