The Percy Program

It is a fight to level the playing field to be able to compete for jobs and careers on the basis of skills and make available apprentice training to all. In 1973 Al Percy launched a class action lawsuit to give workers like him a chance to better their lot in life. It would also ensure the availability of skilled workers to build the infrastructure of the future.

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Attachment 5 EDNY Percy v Employer and Owners 21-cv-01366 Attachment #1 NYS AG Report

  • Text
  • Nursing
  • Residents
  • Homes
  • Staffing
  • Facilities
  • Resident
  • Deaths
  • Guidance
  • Reported
  • Pageid
  • Attachment
  • Edny
  • Percy
  • Employer
  • Owners

Case

Case 1:21-cv-01366-NGG-SJB Case MDL No. 3011 Document 1-1 25-5 Filed Filed 03/15/21 06/24/21 Page Page 44 44 of 83 of 83 PageID #: 141 Each nursing home has a legal obligation to communicate important information to the resident or the resident’s representative. Every resident has the right to name an agent or “health care proxy” to act as their designated representative. The designated representative shall receive any written and oral information required to be provided to the resident and participate in decisions regarding the care, treatment and well-being of the resident if such resident lacks the capacity to make such decisions. 65 Each facility is required (except in a medical emergency) to notify the resident’s physician and designated representative within 24 hours when there is an accident involving the resident, which results in injury requiring professional intervention; a significant improvement or decline in the resident’s physical, mental, or psychosocial status; a need to alter treatment significantly; or a decision to transfer or discharge the resident from the facility. C. Federal Law on Nursing Homes Nursing homes must comply with certain requirements under federal statutes and regulations in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 66 The Nursing Home Reform Act, updated in 2016, contains a broad mandate that nursing homes “must provide [each resident with] the necessary care and services to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being, consistent with the resident’s comprehensive assessment and plan of care.” 67 The law also prioritizes individualization of care plans and the primacy of resident autonomy and choice. 68 The regulation states that “[a] facility must treat each resident with respect and dignity and care for each resident in a manner and in an environment that promotes maintenance or enhancement of his or her quality of life, recognizing each resident’s individuality.” 69 Following this aim, residents have the right to: participate in their treatment; receive all services included in their plan of care; be free from any physical or chemical restraints that are not required to treat medical symptoms and are imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience; express grievances and have them addressed; and, engage in choice (as to activities, schedules, visitors, etc.). 70 Residents also have the right to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of property and exploitation, and the facility must ensure these resident rights are upheld and report any instances where these rights have allegedly been violated to applicable state officials. 71 Nursing homes are also specifically required to ensure residents “[m]aintain[] acceptable parameters of nutritional status, such as usual body weight” and receive “sufficient fluid intake to maintain [their] proper hydration and health.” 72 Nursing homes must also develop personalized plans of care for each resident and conduct periodic assessments of each resident, at which point personal plans are “reviewed and revised.” 73 The goals of the resident are also to be included in their personal care plans, and the complete interdisciplinary care team must help prepare the care plan, including the resident’s attending physician, registered nurse, nurse aid, and a nutrition staff member. 74 44

Case 1:21-cv-01366-NGG-SJB Case MDL No. 3011 Document 1-1 25-5 Filed Filed 03/15/21 06/24/21 Page Page 45 45 of 83 of 83 PageID #: 142 Nursing homes must also provide necessary services “to ensure that a resident’s abilities in activities of daily living do not diminish” unnecessarily. 75 This means the facility must give residents the appropriate treatments and services so that residents can perform daily living activities (e.g., personal hygiene, mobility, dining, communication) on their own. For those residents who are unable to accomplish daily living activities on their own, the facility must provide services to maintain good nutrition, grooming, and hygiene. 76 In addition, nursing homes must ensure an ongoing program of both group and individual activities based on each resident’s care plan, that ensures the “well-being of each resident, [and] encourage[s] both independence and interaction in the community.” 77 Every resident must be in the care of a physician who must visit them once every 60 days and more often in the first three months of a resident’s stay. 78 Nursing homes must also have “sufficient nursing staff with the appropriate competencies and skills sets…to assure resident safety” and the total “well-being of each resident, as determined by resident assessments and individual plans of care and considering the number, acuity and diagnoses of the facility’s resident population.” 79 Each facility must also employ sufficient staff for food and nutrition services, and the staff must possess appropriate competencies “taking into consideration resident assessments, individual plans of care and the number, acuity and diagnoses of the facility’s resident population.” 80 Among other things, facilities must also provide or obtain dental services, laboratory services, radiology services, and other diagnostic services to meet residents’ needs. 81 Similarly, residents requiring physical therapy, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy and/or rehabilitative services for mental disorders and intellectual disability, must be provided with such services. 82 Facilities must also “operate and provide services in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and codes, and with accepted professional standards and principles that apply to professionals providing services in such a facility.” 83 The facilities must comply with all HHS regulations, including those relating to nondiscrimination, confidentiality of health information, fraud, and abuse. 84 Operationally, they must maintain medical records containing residents’ assessments, care plans, diagnostic results, and other progress notes. 85 They must also develop a quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) program that collects and reviews data, as well as resident and staff complaints, in order to facilitate facility improvement. 86 They are required to have a compliance program to prevent and detect criminal, civil, and administrative violations, and promote quality of care. 87 1. Federal Law for Nursing Homes Especially Pertinent to the COVID-19 Pandemic Some federal requirements are very pertinent in the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing homes must conduct “a facility-wide assessment to determine what resources are necessary to care for its residents competently during both day-to-day operations and emergencies.” The assessment must be updated at least annually and whenever there is a “change that would require a substantial modification to any part of this assessment.” 88 Additionally, nursing homes must develop, maintain and update an emergency preparedness plan. This plan must be a “facility-based and community-based risk assessment, utilizing an all-hazards approach.” 89 They must complete annual emergency preparedness training based on their plan. 90 45

Alternative Employment Practice Percy Program