New York Health Care, Inc. Comments On New Advanced Aide Law Signed By Governor Cuomo
In late November, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill creating an advanced home health aide (AHHA) occupation. The bill represents the culmination of a four-year effort by a coalition of statewide organizations, which included PHI. The legislation passed the NYS legislature in June 2016.
The new law allows specially trained AHHAs, under the supervision of a registered nurse, to perform tasks that have until now only been allowed to be performed by a nurse, the individual consumer, a member of the consumer’s immediate family, or through CDPAP, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. These constraints were burdensome for family members who had to adjust their schedules or reduce their working hours to administer routine, pre-packaged, or pre-poured medications to their loved ones. Prior to the new law, home care aides were prohibited from administering medications.
Commenting on the newly minted law, Murry Englard, the Company’s CEO, stated, “We welcome this new law and will, once we understand its implications and how it is intended to be applied, be implementing it system-wide. We believe that Advanced Aides can positively affect certain portions of the homebound population. We have already begun conferring with the various MLTCs (Managed Long Term Care) Companies and other agencies we service in order to better comprehend the implementation of the Advance Heath Aide law.”