Enacts the "Jamie Rose care provider act"; requires health care facilities have policies for suspected victims of domestic abuse.
A09678, the "Jamie Rose care provider act," would add a new section to the Social Services Law requiring certain health care facilities to adopt formal procedures for responding to confirmed or suspected domestic violence. Covered facilities include home care agencies, hospices, health maintenance organizations, shared health facilities, and other facilities where licensed health care practitioners operate, but not hospitals. The bill directs these facilities to create written policies for identifying, assessing, treating, and referring suspected or confirmed domestic violence cases, and to train nursing, medical, social work, clinical, and security staff on those procedures.
The bill also requires facilities to inform suspected or confirmed domestic violence victims about the availability of domestic violence or victim assistance organizations. If the patient wants an advocate present, the facility must contact the appropriate organization and request one. In addition, each facility must designate a staff member to coordinate with local domestic violence or victim assistance organizations identified by the Commissioner of Health. The commissioner would be required to issue rules, consult with the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, develop a model policy, and provide facilities with a list of relevant local organizations.
This bill would create a new statutory duty for specified health care facilities under the Social Services Law and would expand the role of the Department of Health in setting statewide guidance for domestic violence response in health care settings. It would require facilities to implement policies, training, referral procedures, and coordination with victim services, while authorizing the commissioner to promulgate regulations and distribute model policies and local resource lists. The bill would not directly amend hospital requirements, since hospitals are expressly excluded from the definition of covered facilities.
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be framed as a victim-protection and patient-safety bill, with a generally supportive policy orientation. The caption and structure suggest an effort to improve identification and referral of domestic abuse victims in health care settings, and there is no recorded committee debate or vote history indicating opposition or controversy in the available materials. The absence of votes or transcripts limits the ability to assess broader legislative sentiment, but the bill’s design indicates a protective, service-oriented intent.
The main policy questions raised by the bill are likely to concern scope and implementation: which facilities are covered, how much training and coordination will be required, and how the new obligations will be operationalized by the Department of Health. Another possible point of contention is the exclusion of hospitals, since the bill applies to many other health care settings but not Article 28 hospitals. No specific objections, amendments, or opposing viewpoints are included in the provided record, so any contention can only be inferred from the bill’s regulatory and compliance requirements.