Updated Guidelines for Resident Outings During the Pandemic
submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq, Staff Attorney With the recently updated guidelines for visitation from the New York State Department of Health (DOH), many residents living in nursing homes or adult care facilities (facility) and their loved ones have had many questions. The Center for Elder Law & Justice has prepared a fact sheet on…
Read MoreNYS Department of Health Releases Expanded Visitation Guidelines for Nursing Homes and Adult Care Facilities
submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq, Staff Attorney On March 25, 2021, the NYS Department of Health (DOH) updated guidelines for visitation for both nursing homes and adult care facilities. Overall these guidelines are consistent with the federal guidelines released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 10, 2021, which addressed the…
Read MoreUpdated Federal Visitation Guidelines
Submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq, Staff Attorney On March 10, 2021 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an update to their nursing home visitation guidelines. This guidance addresses the impact that the COVID-19 vaccination has on visitation. The information contained in this guidance supersedes and replaces previously issued guidance and recommendations regarding visitation.…
Read MoreNYS Legislative Updates and the Need for Comprehensive Long-Term Care Reform
submitted by: Lindsay Heckler, Supervising Attorney This week, the NYS Assembly passed a variety of legislation pertaining to nursing homes and adult care facilities. Below is a summary of each of each of the bills that were passed and what happens next. Before going into these bills, I want to make the following point that…
Read MoreScams: Learn the Red Flags during National Consumer Protection Week
The month of March began with National Consumer Protection Week. The FTC has recently reported that Americans lost upwards of $3.3 billion to scams and fraud in 2020. This is almost double the amount lost in 2019! Just in New York State, which had the 9th highest rate of fraud reports to the FTC in…
Read MoreUpdate from NYS Department of Health: Expanded Visitation Guidelines for Adult Care Facilities and Visitation Legislative Updates
Submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq, Staff Attorney On March 2, 2021 NYS Department of Health (DOH) released an updated guidance for visitation in adult care facilities. This update comes just a week after DOH released an updated guidance for nursing home visitation. This new guidance for adult care facilities supersedes and replaces any previously issued…
Read MoreUpdate from NYS Department of Health: Expanded Visitation Guidelines for Nursing Homes
Submitted by: Bria Lewis, Esq., Staff Attorney On February 22, 2021 NYS Department of Health (DOH) released an updated guidance for visitation in nursing homes. This guidance supersedes and replaces any previously issued guidance from DOH regarding visitation in nursing homes. These new guidelines begin on February 26, 2021. As of February 24, 2021 DOH…
Read MoreFive Weeks into Presidency, President Biden Sends Clear Message: LGBTQ+ Rights are a Priority
submitted by Christopher Phillips, Esq. Just five short weeks into President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidency, the administration has sent a clear message. LGBTQ+ rights are a priority. On his first day in office, President Biden issued the Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. The…
Read MoreCall to Action: Safe Visitation for Nursing Homes & Adult Care Facilities
It has been almost a year since the initial ban on in-person visitation in nursing homes and adult care facilities, and visitation is still extremely restrictive. Residents have been negatively impacted by these restrictions, living in forced isolation and experiencing cognitive and mental decline. Virtual visitation has not been an adequate substitution to combat the…
Read More