2020 -- H 8106 | |
======== | |
LC005519 | |
======== | |
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
____________ | |
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N | |
CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE | |
RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE STATUS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RHODE ISLAND'S | |
NURSING HOMES | |
| |
Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Casimiro, Ackerman, Serpa, and Craven | |
Date Introduced: July 16, 2020 | |
Referred To: House read and passed | |
1 | WHEREAS, In 2019, Rhode Island, with a growing population of seniors, was ranked |
2 | third in the nation in people over the age of 85; and |
3 | WHEREAS, Currently, Rhode Island has 81 nursing homes that are facing multiple |
4 | challenges including intensified staffing concerns, the heart-breaking loss of more than 8 percent |
5 | of the state's 7,500 nursing home residents due to COVID-19 related illness, access to personal |
6 | protective equipment, and budget issues due to Medicaid reimbursement reductions; and |
7 | WHEREAS, The lives, care, and treatment of nursing home residents, who are some of |
8 | our state's most vulnerable citizens, is of utmost concern to all Rhode Islanders; now, therefore be |
9 | it |
10 | RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
11 | consisting of fifteen (15) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Rhode Island |
12 | House of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by |
13 | the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode Island Health Care |
14 | Association (RIHCA), or designee; one of whom shall be the SEIU State Council Director (RI), |
15 | or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health |
16 | and Human Services (RIEOHHS), or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode |
17 | Island Department of Health (RIDOH), or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the |
18 | Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT), or designee; one of whom shall be the |
19 | Executive Director for the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care, or designee; one of whom |
| |
1 | shall be the President of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, or designee; one of whom |
2 | shall be the President of Lifespan, or designee; one of whom shall be a member of the public, to |
3 | be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be an administrator of a not-for- |
4 | profit Rhode Island nursing home, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom |
5 | shall be an administrator of a for-profit Rhode Island nursing home, to be appointed by the |
6 | Speaker of the House; and one of whom shall be a registered nurse, licensed and employed in a |
7 | Rhode Island nursing home, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House. |
8 | In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory |
9 | commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly |
10 | resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu |
11 | of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which |
12 | is entitled to the appointment consents to the member of the general public. |
13 | The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and provide |
14 | recommendations regarding the status and requirements for Rhode Island nursing homes to |
15 | include, but not be limited to: |
16 | 1. Methods and means for providing paramount quality of care; |
17 | 2. Reimbursement methodology; |
18 | 3. Staffing levels; |
19 | 4. Workforce development and, specifically, employee recruitment and retention efforts |
20 | and results; |
21 | 5. Patient acuity levels for different types of care given; and |
22 | 6. Financial condition of Rhode Island nursing homes. |
23 | Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
24 | the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson from among the |
25 | legislators. |
26 | Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
27 | The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
28 | All departments and agencies of the state, shall furnish such advice and information, |
29 | documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
30 | desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
31 | The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters |
32 | for said commission; and be it further |
33 | RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
34 | House of Representatives no later than April 15, 2021, and said commission shall expire on July |
| LC005519 - Page 2 of 4 |
1 | 15, 2021. |
======== | |
LC005519 | |
======== | |
| LC005519 - Page 3 of 4 |
EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N | |
CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE | |
RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE STATUS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RHODE ISLAND'S | |
NURSING HOMES | |
*** | |
1 | This resolution would create a fifteen (15) member special legislative study commission |
2 | whose purpose it would be to make a comprehensive study and provide recommendations on the |
3 | status and requirements for Rhode Island's nursing homes, and who would report back to the |
4 | House of Representatives no later than April 15, 2021, and whose life would expire on July 15, |
5 | 2021. |
======== | |
LC005519 | |
======== | |
| LC005519 - Page 4 of 4 |