Provides that hospital admission registration forms include the name of school attended by school-aged patients

BILL NUMBER:S4060

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospi- tals to obtain the name of the school attended by school-aged patients and to include this information in their admission registration forms

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill provides that hospital, medical clinics and private practice physicians include a request for the school grade and name of the school attended by their school-aged patients name and that this information be included as part of the written vital patient data collected prior to treatment and establishes a protocol for immediate notification of the local department of health if said school-aged child is diagnosed with an infectious and communicable disease.

Summary of specific provisions

This bill adds section 2805-v of the public health law to require hospi- tals, medical clinics and private practice physicians to request, upon treatment of school-aged patients, the grade and name of the school that said school-aged patient attends and to include such inquiry in their patient records. This bill further adds a new section 2113 to the public health law establishing a protocol for the immediate notification of the local department of health, if said school-aged child is diagnosed with an infectious and communicable disease, to facilitate the immediate initiation of inspection and additional notification protocols as soon as practicable.

Justification

The recent death of 12 year-old Omar Rivera, who attended I.S. 211 in Canarsie, Brooklyn, from the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA and the increasing number of reported infected youth across the state, highlighted the need for health practi- tioners to be more responsive alerting the affected community as to their exposure and the preventative measures they must immediately take. By requiring hospitals, medical clinics and private practice physicians who treat infected school-age children to ascertain the school locality of exposure and potential infection at the time of admission and to promptly pass this information on to the local department of health, this legislation will effectively help to reduce the possibility of long-term exposure and infection within the affected school locality as well as in the community in general.

Prior legislative history

S.689 of 2011 01/05/11 REFERRED TO HEALTH 01/04/12 REFERRED TO HEALTH 01/09/13 REFERRED TO HEALTH 01/08/14 REFERRED TO HEALTH

Fiscal implications

None to state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately. This legislation seek to reduce the possibility of infection.