new york state Archives - Center for Elder Law & Justice

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…

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…

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…

The Department of Health (DOH) announced on July 10 that that outside visitation and limited indoor visitation and activities can resume in nursing homes and adult care facilities so long as the facility meets specific benchmarks. We discuss what those benchmarks are and the limitations on visitation below. We encourage residents and families who have…

submitted by Kevin M. Quinn On June 30, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act (the Act), which provides further protections to tenants suffering from financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act prohibits courts from ever evicting residential tenants who failed to pay their rent during the…

submitted by Lindsay Heckler, Esq. and Liam McMahon, Paralegal Call to action: use your voice to improve long-term care! There have been longstanding issues with transparency and communication on the guidance issued to nursing home and adult care facility providers by New York State and the New York State Department of Health. To assist the…

On June 15th, in honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we held a “virtual” press conference, with videos from elected officials and leaders across the state. All video comments can be viewed on our YouTube Channel. During the month of June, communities around the world have the opportunity to promote a better understanding of…

Free legal services are in imminent danger of facing devastating cuts. We are deeply concerned about the potential $8.4 billion cut in the New York State Aid to Localities budget, which could gut civil legal services across NYS. These services help individuals and families obtain vital resources, such as healthcare, critical benefits, safe housing, stable income,…

submitted by Lindsay Heckler, Esq. On May 10, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 202.30 Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency. To summarize, every nursing home and adult care facility is required to test (or arrange to have tested) all staff twice a week, pursuant to a plan…

Senior woman sitting on the wheelchair alone

submitted by Liam McMahon, Paralegal On May 8th the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services published a new rule for nursing homes that will change what COVID-19 information they are required to report to residents, their family and representatives, and CMS itself. Those requirements are detailed below, along with where residents and family can turn…