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Nursing Homes Are Reminded of Ombudsman and DOH Notice Requirements Effective April 20th

Nursing home members are reminded of two new legislative requirements enacted by Chapter 66 of the Laws of 2022 amending Public Health Law Section 2803-c-1 that will go into effect on April 20th. As a reminder, LeadingAge NY has developed this Compliance Chart to assist nursing homes in tracking the various requirements being implemented and their effective dates.

The first change requires the posting of resident rights in different languages. The legislation directs the Department of Health (DOH) to translate and make available to all nursing homes the statement in the 10 most common non-English languages spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in New York State as based on the most recent United States Census. Once this document is made available, the nursing home must post and make available copies of the statement. LeadingAge NY has reached out to DOH and the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program regarding the status of these translations, and they are still in development. We will let members know when they are available.

The second change requires nursing homes to post in a conspicuous place or places where notices to residents are customarily, and provide each member of the facility's staff, and each resident and their appointed personal representative prior to the time of admission, or at the time of the representative’s appointment, the following contact information:

  • contact information for the state and relevant regional office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program as provided for in Section 218 of the Elder Law; and
  • contact information for the Department's Nursing Home Complaint Hotline.

Updated contact information should be provided twice a year.

To assist members in complying with this requirement, this website provides the regional Ombudsman information, which allows you to search by county but also lists the counties overseen by each region, and you can obtain the state Ombudsman office contact information here.

The Nursing Home Complaint Hotline number is 1-888-201-4563. One can also file a complaint online here.

Again, members should have these pieces in place by April 20th.

Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828