Basic health services like vaccinations, verbal assessments and counseling could be offered in homes under legislation headed to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.
The measure is thought to allow local health departments in New York to provide “light touch” services that include lead screening as well as referral services.
Lawmakers want to allow nurses to visit homes and provide these public health services without being licensed, as long as the visit follows legal requirements and is not intended to serve as a formal nursing service.
The measure would also allow the state health commissioner to determine whether the service exceeds the boundaries of the scope of public health services. The measure would also generate reimbursements for these services.
Lawmakers have yet to determine the cost of the legislation, but in a memorandum of support, he noted how the change would give state and local health officials a lighter bureaucratic burden.
“Decreasing monitoring needs at the state and local level would result in administrative savings and a redistribution of existing tax rates to meet other public health needs,” the lawmakers said.
