Bill > A4636

This bill establishes minimum ratios for certified nurse aides (CNAs), who provide direct care to residents, to the number of residents in nursing homes, replacing the previous term "nursing assistant." Specifically, nursing homes must maintain a ratio of one CNA for every eight residents during the day shift, one CNA for every ten residents during the evening shift, and one CNA for every sixteen residents during the night shift. The bill also provides a temporary exemption from increased CNA staffing requirements for nine shifts following an expansion of the resident census. Calculations for these ratios will be rounded up to the next whole number if the result is fifty-one hundredths or higher, and all computations will be based on the resident count at midnight. Importantly, this bill does not affect other minimum staffing requirements set by the Commissioner of Health for staff other than CNAs, nor does it prevent nursing homes from exceeding these minimums. The Commissioner of Health is tasked with adopting rules to implement these changes, which will take effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment.