N.Y. Public Health Law 2828*2 – Essential support persons allowed for individuals with disabilities during a state of emergency
* § 2828. Essential support persons allowed for individuals with disabilities during a state of emergency. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2828*2
- Caretaker: means a person appointed pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-eight hundred six-b of this article, to act as a fiduciary responsible to the court which appoints him for the conserving and preserving of the rights and property of the operator of a residential health care facility, while also preserving and providing for the rights of the patients in such facility to care appropriate to their needs in a clean and wholesome environment in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2801
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Hospital: means a facility or institution engaged principally in providing services by or under the supervision of a physician or, in the case of a dental clinic or dental dispensary, of a dentist, or, in the case of a midwifery birth center, of a midwife, for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of human disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical condition, including, but not limited to, a general hospital, public health center, diagnostic center, treatment center, a rural emergency hospital under 42 USC 1395x(kkk), or successor provisions, dental clinic, dental dispensary, rehabilitation center other than a facility used solely for vocational rehabilitation, nursing home, tuberculosis hospital, chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, midwifery birth center, lying-in-asylum, out-patient department, out-patient lodge, dispensary and a laboratory or central service facility serving one or more such institutions, but the term hospital shall not include an institution, sanitarium or other facility engaged principally in providing services for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of mental disability and which is subject to the powers of visitation, examination, inspection and investigation of the department of mental hygiene except for those distinct parts of such a facility which provide hospital service. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2801
(a) "Disability" shall mean any condition or disorder which prevents or makes difficult for an individual the ability to communicate a medical condition or certain specific medical or everyday needs, including, but not limited to, autism or cerebral palsy.
(b) "Essential support person" shall mean an individual who frequently accompanies and assists an individual with a disability with managing and communicating basic or medical needs and is considered a critical member of such individual's health care team.
2. (a) No general hospital shall establish any rules or regulations in response to a pandemic or state disaster emergency declared by the governor, prohibiting a patient who suffers from a disability from having access to an essential support person for the duration of their hospitalization from intake to discharge.
(b) An individual with a disability or the legal guardian for the individual shall be allowed to designate a single primary essential support person to assist with communicating medical needs and managing everyday needs during hospitalization and such essential support person shall be limited to such individual's parent, spouse or caretaker.
* NB There are 2 § 2828's