N.Y. Public Health Law 2802-A – Transitional care unit demonstration program
§ 2802-a. Transitional care unit demonstration program. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized to approve up to eighteen general hospitals within the state to operate transitional care units by and within such general hospitals. For purposes of this section, "transitional care" shall mean sub acute care services provided to patients of a general hospital who no longer require acute care general hospital inpatient services, but continue to need specialized medical, nursing and other hospital ancillary services and are not yet appropriate for discharge.
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2802-A
- General hospital: means a hospital engaged in providing medical or medical and surgical services primarily to in-patients by or under the supervision of a physician on a twenty-four hour basis with provisions for admission or treatment of persons in need of emergency care and with an organized medical staff and nursing service, including facilities providing services relating to particular diseases, injuries, conditions or deformities. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2801
- 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
- Residential health care facility: means a nursing home or a facility providing health-related service. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2801
2. In order to receive approval from the commissioner to operate a transitional care unit and to provide transitional care services, a general hospital shall file an application on forms prescribed by or acceptable to the commissioner.
(a) The commissioner shall act upon such applications in a manner consistent with section twenty-eight hundred two of this article provided that the commissioner may not waive review and recommendation by the public health and health planning council. In the public health and health planning council's evaluation of applications and the commissioner acting upon such applications, priority shall be given to applicants who have a memorandum of understanding or other cooperative agreement with one or more skilled nursing facilities located within their service area. Further, in the public health and health planning council evaluating applications and the commissioner acting upon such applications, consideration shall also be given to the geographic distribution of applicants throughout the state, so that applications may be approved from the various geographic regions of the state.
(b) The care provided in a transitional care unit shall be limited in duration and designed to resolve a patient's sub acute care medical problems and result in the timely and appropriate discharge of such a patient to a home, residential health care facility or other appropriate setting.
(c) In order to be approved to operate a transitional care unit and to provide transitional care services, an applicant must comply with and meet all applicable requirements of and conditions of participation under title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act (Medicare).
3. The commissioner shall report to the governor and the legislature concerning the implementation of this section and the operation of transitional care units within three years after the effective date of this section.