OMH-21-10-00010-P Operation of Psychiatric Inpatient Units of General Hospitals and Operation of Hospitals for Persons with Mental Illness

5/26/10 N.Y. St. Reg. OMH-21-10-00010-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXII, ISSUE 21

May 26, 2010

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. OMH-21-10-00010-P

Operation of Psychiatric Inpatient Units of General Hospitals and Operation of Hospitals for Persons with Mental Illness

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

Amendment of Parts 580 and 582 of Title 14 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Mental Hygiene Law, arts. 7 and 31

Subject:

Operation of Psychiatric Inpatient Units of General Hospitals and Operation of Hospitals for Persons with Mental Illness.

Purpose:

To update provisions that reflect outdated statutory references, nomenclature, practices or principles.

Substance of proposed rule (Full text is posted at the following State website:www.omh.state.ny.us):

Summary

This rule will amend 14 NYCRR Part 580, Operation of Psychiatric Inpatient Units of General Hospitals, and 14 NYCRR Part 582, Operation of Hospitals for the Mentally Ill, by providing greater accuracy and clarity to providers of mental health services with respect to the standards under which they are expected to operate.

Overview

Currently, Part 580, which governs psychiatric inpatient units of general hospitals, and Part 582, which pertains to freestanding hospitals for persons with mental illness, are outdated. They do not reflect current statutory citations or amendments made over the past ten years, nor do they clearly convey the expectations of the Office of Mental Health with respect to current standards and operating practices.

Requirements

Provisions regarding the commingling of minors under the age of 18 and adults have been added, as have rules regarding implementing criminal history record checks in accordance with 14 NYCRR Part 550 (for Part 582 programs only, consistent with Mental Hygiene Law Section 31.35) and incident management procedures in accordance with 14 NYCRR Part 524. Appropriate references to program notification obligations under Mental Hygiene Law Section 33.23 ("Jonathan's Law") have been added. Consistent with Chapter 323 of the Laws of 2008, the definitions of "abused child in residential care" and "neglected child in residential care" have been amended. A new Section on "Premises" has been added to both Parts. This Section includes subdivisions relating to Safety, Code Compliance, Construction Standards, Provisions for Unplanned Events and Electroconvulsive Therapy. Changes have been included which reflect "person first" language. No longer is the terminology "mentally ill" used when referencing persons with mental illness. A person-first approach to language is much more respectful and courteous to others. In addition, other modifications have been made to reflect current nomenclature. Finally, references to sections of the Mental Hygiene Law or implementing regulations that have been repealed have been deleted and replaced.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Joyce Donohue, NYS Office of Mental Health, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Same as above.

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Regulatory Impact Statement

1. Statutory Authority: Section 7.09 of the Mental Hygiene Law grants the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health the authority and responsibility to adopt regulations that are necessary and proper to implement matters under his/her jurisdiction.

2. Legislative Objectives: Articles 7 and 31 of the Mental Hygiene Law reflect the Commissioner's authority to establish regulations regarding mental health programs. Chapter 323 of the Laws of 2008 created a new Section 412-a of the Social Services Law to amend the definitions of "abused child in residential care" and "neglected child in residential care."

3. Needs and Benefits: The regulations governing psychiatric inpatient units of general hospitals (14 NYCRR Part 580), and freestanding hospitals for persons with mental illness (14 NYCRR Part 582), are significantly outdated. They do not reflect current statutory citations or amendments made over the past ten years with respect to criminal history background checks, child abuse and neglect definitions, incident notification, or other applicable statutes. Furthermore, these regulations use outdated lexicon, contain several procedural requirements that have not been applicable for a number of years, and do not accurately reflect expectations with regard to service provision in these facilities.

4. Costs:

(a) cost to State government: These regulatory amendments will not result in any additional costs to State government.

(b) cost to local government: These regulatory amendments will not result in any additional costs to local government.

(c) cost to regulated parties: These regulatory amendments will not result in any additional costs to regulated parties.

5. Local Government Mandates: These regulatory amendments will not result in any additional imposition of duties or responsibilities upon county, city, town, village, school or fire districts.

6. Paperwork: No increased paperwork is anticipated as a result of the amendments to Parts 580 and 582.

7. Duplication: These regulatory amendments do not duplicate existing State or federal requirements.

8. Alternatives: The only alternative to the regulatory amendment which was considered was inaction. Since inaction would perpetuate the regulations' outdated references, as well as other outdated rules or practices, that alternative was necessarily rejected.

9. Federal Standards: The regulatory amendments do not exceed any minimum standards of the federal government for the same or similar subject areas.

10. Compliance Schedule: The regulatory amendments are effective immediately.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments is not being submitted with this notice because the amended rules will not impose any new reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on small businesses or local governments. The proposed amendments to 14 NYCRR Parts 580 and 582 merely update provisions that reflect outdated statutory references, nomenclature, practices or principles. There will be no adverse economic impact on small businesses or local governments.

Rural Area Flexibility Analysis

A Rural Area Flexibility Analysis is not being submitted with this notice because the amended rules will not impose any adverse economic impact on rural areas, nor will they impose any new reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on public or private entities in rural areas. The proposed amendments to 14 NYCRR Parts 580 and 582 merely update provisions that reflect outdated statutory references, nomenclature, practices or principles.

Job Impact Statement

A Job Impact statement is not being submitted with this notice because it is evident from the subject matter of the amendments that they will have no impact on jobs and employment opportunities.