§ 367-G — Authorization and provision of personal emergency response services

§ 367-g. Authorization and provision of personal emergency response\nservices. 1. Personal care services and home health services shall\ninclude, where appropriate as determined by the social services\ndistrict, the provision of personal emergency response services and\nshared aide services pursuant to the provisions of subdivision two of\nsection three hundred sixty-five-a of this chapter. For the purpose of\nthis section, "personal emergency response services" shall mean (a) the\nprovision and maintenance of electronic communication equipment in the\nhome of an individual which signals a monitoring agency for help when\nactivated by the individual, or after a period of time if a timer\nmechanism has not been reset, or by any other activating method; and (b)\nthe continuous monitoring of such signals by a trained operator and, in\ncase of receipt of such signal, the immediate notification of such\nemergency response organizations or persons, if necessary, as the\nindividual has previously specified.\n 2. The commissioner shall maintain standards for social services\ndistrict's use and approval of personal emergency response services and\nshared aide services, which shall include, but need not be limited to\ndepartment standards:\n (a) for the personal emergency response system equipment used to\nensure its reliability and appropriate design for the purpose;\n (b) providing that use of personal emergency response services or\nshared aide services are part of a plan of care for the recipient that\nis based on the comprehensive assessment that such recipient has a\nmedical condition, disability or impairment that warrants use of the\nservice;\n (c) requiring that the provider of the personal emergency response\nservice have sufficient qualifications and expertise, adequate\ninformation on the client and the plan of care, and the capacity to\nprovide timely information on calls received to the social services\ndistrict or its designee;\n (d) for coordination between the social services districts and the\nemergency response organization, as well as guidelines for regular\nupdating of information on recipients receiving such service;\n (e) with respect to appropriate supervision and safety for recipients\nreceiving personal emergency response service or shared aide services;\n (f) assuring that the assessment determines that the recipient can\nadequately utilize the personal emergency response system;\n (g) assuring that personal emergency response services or shared aide\nservices are medically appropriate, can meet the needs of the recipient\nfor home care tasks, ensure the quality of the recipient's care and will\nnot jeopardize the health or safety of the recipient;\n (h) for determining the geographic appropriateness, in relation to\nstaffing, of providing shared aide services and assuring that providers\nof home care services and districts consider the impact of the site\nselection on the staff who will be assigned to work at a shared aide\nsite and that such staff, and any employee organization representing\nsuch staff where appropriate, are consulted with respect to the\nmanagement and operation of a shared aide site;\n (i) assuring that social services districts have a plan for providing\ninformation to consumers and their representatives concerning personal\nemergency response services and shared aide services, including\ninformation on how to express concerns about the service which they are\nreceiving.\n 3. The department shall establish and issue the standards required\nunder subdivision two hereof to social services districts on or before\nthe first day of August of nineteen hundred ninety-five, after first\nseeking public comment thereon. The department, after consultation with\nrepresentatives of social services districts, home health and personal\ncare provider agencies and workers, providers of personal emergency\nresponse services and elderly or disabled persons who are receiving such\nservices shall prepare a report to the governor and the legislature by\nApril first, nineteen hundred ninety-six outlining any changes which are\ndeemed appropriate to the standards for personal emergency response\nservices and shared aide services which have been established by the\ndepartment.\n