Effective June 1, 2021, New York passed regulatory sections amending 10 NYCR 415.3(d) to add verbiage regarding personal caregiving visitation, additional provisions relating to compassionate caregiving, and authority for the Department of Health to review a nursing home’s personal caregiving visitation policies and procedures. Please read the below excerpt for details:

The regulatory amendments relating to personal caregiving visitation, as contained in the new 10 NYCRR 415.3(d)(3) and 18 NYCRR 485.18(c), provide that such visitation shall be permitted in a nursing home and adult care facility during a public health emergency declared under section twenty-four or section twenty-eight of the Executive Law, notwithstanding general visitation restrictions in the facility, and subject to certain limitations, including the need to limit or temporarily suspend personal caregiving visitation due to an increase in local infection rates, temporary inadequate staff capacity, an acute emergency situation such as loss of an essential service, or because the personal caregiving visitor poses a threat to the safety and well-being of the resident or any resident or personnel in the facility. The regulations governing personal caregiving visitation further: (i) set forth procedures for residents or their lawful representatives to designate and change their designation of personal caregiving visitors; (ii) provide that a resident shall be entitled to designate at least two personal caregiving visitors; (iii) require that all personal caregiving visitors follow infection prevention safety protocols required for nursing home and adult care facility staff, such as communicable disease testing, health screenings, and donning appropriate personal protective equipment; and (iv) set forth standards for a facility to determine the maximum frequency and duration of personal caregiving visits and the total number of personal caregiving visitors allowed to visit the facility at any one time.

Please read the “Personal Caregiving and Compassionate Caregiving Visitors in Nursing Homes and Adult Care Facilities” emergency regulation for more information.