Recently Barclay Damon attorneys have seen a rapid increase in the number of citations issued by the NYS Department of Health (DOH) to adult care facilities (ACFs) based on the timeliness of submissions of ACF daily reports and weekly staff reports. Daily reports are required to be submitted to the DOH regarding the number of COVID-19 cases in the facility, whereas weekly staff reports are completed for staff testing and personal protective equipment.
In some cases, inspection reports—and even referrals to the Department of Legal Affairs for enforcement—have been issued where a facility was only a few minutes late (or not late at all) in submitting these reports. As part of the inspection reports, the DOH claims that the facilities are in violation of the NYS regulation that permits the DOH to access certain information and records.
We recommend that ACFs maintain thorough policies and procedures as to how the facility submits the requested reports to the DOH and which facility personnel are responsible for the submissions and documentation reflecting that the reports were submitted. Where the reports were submitted on time or additional information about the submission should be considered by the DOH, ACFs should consider submitting a request for an Inspection Review Process to challenge the citation. In the meantime, ACFs should still submit a plan of correction requested by the DOH, including any review of existing policies and in-service training of staff completed.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Melissa Zambri, Health Care & Human Services Practice Area co-chair, at mzambri@barclaydamon.com; Mary Connolly, associate, at mconnolly@barclaydamon.com; or another member of the firm’s Health Care & Human Services or Health Care Controversies Practice Areas.
We also have a specific team of Barclay Damon attorneys who are actively working on assessing regulatory, legislative, and other governmental updates related to COVID-19 and who are prepared to assist clients. Please contact Yvonne Hennessey, COVID-19 Response Team leader, at yhennessey@barclaydamon.com or any member of the COVID-19 Response Team at COVID-19ResponseTeam@barclaydamon.com.