ASSEMBLY AGING AND SENIOR SERVICES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4485

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  AUGUST 21, 2020

      The Assembly Aging and Senior Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4485.

     As amended by the committee, this bill requires the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management, during a public emergency, to dedicate a percentage of the State’s stockpiled personal protective equipment to:  1) long-term care facilities; 2) home health agencies; and 3) community-based providers that employ direct support professionals in group homes.  The amount of personal protective equipment that is dedicated to long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-based providers under the bill is to be sufficient to meet the needs of those facilities, agencies, and providers to the greatest extent possible, given the available stockpiled supplies.

     Under the bill’s provisions, the commissioner, in consultation with the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management, will be required to determine the specific percentage of personal protective equipment to be allocated to long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-service providers under the bill, based on the nature of the public health emergency, the total number of current long-term care facility residents, home health agency consumers, and residents of community-based group homes, and the average rate of personal protective equipment consumption by long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-based providers.  The commissioner will also be required to coordinate with local health departments and the county coordinators for the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management to:  1) collect information on the total number of current long-term care facility residents, home health agency consumers, and residents of community-based group homes, the current inventory of personal protective equipment in the State stockpile, as well as the inventory that is currently available at each long-term care facility, home health agency, and community-based provider, and the average rate of personal protective equipment consumption by long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-based providers; and 2) distribute personal protective equipment to long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-based providers, based on each entity’s need and the available stockpiled supplies.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to provide for the dedication of personal protective equipment, during times of public emergency, not only to long-term care facilities, but also to home health agencies and to community-based providers that employ direct support professionals in group homes.  The amendments add a new definition of “home health agency,” and they alter the existing definition of “personal protective equipment” to include specific reference to N95 facemasks and to remove references to medical equipment and portable respirators, which do not constitute types of personal protective equipment.  The amendments further clarify that the amount of personal protective equipment dedicated to long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and community-based providers under the bill is to be sufficient to meet the needs of those facilities, agencies, and providers to the greatest extent possible, given the available stockpiled supplies.

      The amendments also correct a citation, delete all references to “patients” and insert new references to “residents” or “consumers,” as appropriate, and make other minor technical changes.