Legislative Bulletin: Upcoming Advocacy Days in May and June

May 20th Nursing Home Advocacy Day to Focus on Staffing Ratios
Now that the budget is passed and the Legislature has returned to Albany from their April recess, lawmakers are focusing on moving legislation through committees and on to their house calendars to be debated for passage. This is a critical time in the legislative session – organizations, unions and other advocacy groups will be making their way to Albany to advocate for bills important to them that they would like to see passed. Currently, there is a bill in both the Senate and the Assembly that would create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct-care staff in hospitals and nursing homes, known as the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act (A.6571 (Gottfried)-S.3691-A (Hannon)). LeadingAge New York opposes this bill and is hosting a Nursing Home Advocacy Day on Tues., May 20th to discuss the bill with lawmakers. The NYS Nurses Association and other unions in support of the bill will also be in Albany on May 20th. We urge you to join us in Albany on May 20th to help us prevent this bill from moving forward – registration is available here. Please take a moment to send an email to your legislator opposing the staffing ratio bill.

CCRC Legislation Gains Traction in the Legislature
Legislation that would allow Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) to provide Continuing Care at Home contracts to seniors who live in their own homes, but would like to receive the services provided by a CCRC is moving quickly in the Legislature! The bill, A.4611-B (Schimminger)-S.2118-B (Ranzenhofer), was placed on the Assembly calendar to be debated this Mon., May 5th and has been placed on the Senate Health Committee Agenda for Tues., May 6th. LeadingAge New York staff worked with the sponsors of the bill to perfect the legislation and so we expect this bill to pass both houses this year. Help ensure the passage of this bill by sending a letter to your lawmakers, today.

Attn: CCRC Members – Register Now: LeadingAge NY will also host a CCRC Advocacy Day on Tues., June 2nd in Albany. The day will include a luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Albany Room located on Empire State Plaza in Albany. Legislators who represent CCRCs will be invited to partake in a forum to discuss the current status of CCRCs in New York, CCRC models in other states and the future of CCRCs. Please register as soon as possible, so we can ensure that your lawmakers will attend the forum – click here to register.

Thank You ACF/AL Members for Joining Us in Albany
Thank you to those Adult Care Facility (ACF) and Assisted Living (AL) members who joined us in Albany on Mon., April 28th for our Annual ACF/AL Advocacy Day. This year, members met with the regional directors from Senators Schumer and Gillibrand’s offices to discuss the Veteran’s Benefits process; Assemblyman Dick Gottfried to discuss a piece of legislation recently introduced pertaining to a generator requirement in ACFs, ALPs and ALRs; and with the Department of Health and Governor’s office to discuss issues such as the role of the nurse, the HCBS settings rule and survey process. All of the meeting materials will be made available on our Legislative Action Center. If you have any questions about this year’s Advocacy Day, please contact Diane Darbyshire at 518-867-8383.

Are You Registered to Golf?
The LeadingAge NY Golf Tournament is right around the corner! Tee off will be at 12:45 on Mon., June 16th for the 18-hole tournament, followed by a 3 p.m. pro-clinic and 9-hole tournament. In addition, there are plenty of sponsor opportunities, including a tee-sign sponsorship. Those who sponsor a tee-sign will receive their name and their organization/company’s name on a tee-sign located on the green. This sponsorship is available to provider-members, as well as associate members, vendors and non-members. Click here to have your name seen on the green and here to register to golf and view sponsorship opportunities.