HEALTH CARE
COVID-19: What New Yorkers Need to Know
Erin Riker, Esq. Coordinator, CELJ Legal Advice Helpline This blog entry contains information about changes in laws, emergency declarations, and other government actions that affect your life in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a rapidly developing situation, so this article will be updated regularly as conditions change. This entry is current as…
Read MorePlanning for the Unexpected: Which Documents Are Right For You?
submitted by Christopher Phillips, Esq. Planning for the future is important. Life can change in the blink of an eye, so it is important to think ahead and find ways to look after yourself and your affairs. The decision to put documents in place is a personal one. The content below provides general information regarding…
Read MoreCELJ Announces New Consumer Guides for Nursing Home Residents
submitted by Liam McMahon, Paralegal The Center for Elder Law & Justice (CELJ) is excited to announce the release of two new informational guides for long-term care consumers in Western New York. In October of 2019, with generous funding provided by the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund, CELJ began a new resident rights advocacy…
Read MoreProtecting Long Term Care Residents’ Right to Vote in the Time of COVID-19
submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq. The 2020 Presidential Election is fast approaching and many long-term care residents are at risk for not being able to cast a vote. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nursing homes and adult care facilities to have strict visitation policies. Therefore, family members, Ombudsman representatives, and other visitors that would assist…
Read MoreNew York State Department of Health Updates on Skilled Nursing Facility Visitation
submitted by Bria Lewis, Esq. and Liam McMahon On September 15, 2020, the NYS Department of Health released updated guidelines for Skilled Nursing Facility Visitation. The first update to visitation guidelines is facilities must have no new confirmed staff or resident COVID-19 reported cases for 14 days. (The prior threshold for visitation was 28 days.)…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Testing – When is it covered?
submitted by Caroline McDonough, Esq. The recent return to school for many as well as the continued return to the workplace is bringing about questions relating to the availability of coronavirus testing. While testing continues to increase across New York State, health insurance coverage for tests only remains available for medical purposes. Federal guidance requires…
Read MoreTestimony to the NYS Legislature
Attorney Lindsay Heckler is providing testimony today before the Joint Legislative Committees on Aging, Health, and Investigations and Government Operations on New York Residential Health Care Facilities and Covid-19. The growing crisis of substandard care in nursing homes and other residential settings is nothing new. The pandemic has exacerbated these issues and brought long overdue…
Read MoreMedical-legal partnerships for socially vulnerable older adults
Improve Adult Care Facilities
A.4416C (Gottfried) / S.3460A (Rivera) provides important consumer protections to residents and their families by deterring the worst abuses in Adult Care Facilities. The Center for Elder Law & Justice is urging our state legislators to support A.4416C / S.3460A in an effort to improve Adult Care Facilities, benefiting the lives of New Yorkers residing…
Read MoreNYS Lifts Visitor Ban on Nursing Homes
We welcome the July 10th announcement and corresponding guidance issued by the NYS Department of Health (“DOH”) to reopen visitation to nursing homes and adult care facilities. We are pleased to see that “visitors” is not limited, and includes family members, loved ones, long-term care ombudsmen, and resident advocacy organizations. Visitors play an essential component…
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