Legislation establishes the need of protective equipment for residents in nursing home communities.
OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Senator Vin Gopal’s bill S2566 has been voted out of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today and will move to the State Senate for a vote. The companion bill has been introduced in the Assembly.
S2566 requires nursing homes to maintain a certain supply of personal protection equipment for residents. Under the bill, a nursing home is to maintain, at all times, a supply of personal protection equipment that is sufficient to sustain the health care needs of 20 percent of the total number of residents within the nursing home for a reasonable period of time.
The bill also states that a nursing home is to submit a report biennially to the Department of Health detailing its personal protection equipment inventory. The bill defines “personal protection equipment” to mean equipment, such as gloves, masks, or gowns, which is worn by nursing home residents to minimize the spread of disease.
“This is an important step to help protect the health and safety of our senior citizens,” Gopal said (D-Long Branch). “Nursing homes should, at all times, be able to provide sufficient materials to their residents to minimize the spread of this deadly disease. Our most vulnerable community to this virus needs to be protected and we need to take measures to ensure their safety.”