New Regulation Requires Weekly Census Reports

A regulation proposed by the Department of Health (DOH) that codifies the requirement for nursing homes to submit weekly bed census data through the Health Commerce System (HCS) has been adopted. The notice of adoption appeared on page 22 of the Aug. 21, 2019 edition of the State Register.

DOH’s Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) #09-02, effective April 8, 2009, requires nursing homes to report weekly bed census data electronically to the Department. The DAL specified that these data be reported each week between Wednesday 8 a.m. and Friday 5 p.m. In 2013, via a notice sent through the HCS, DOH informed nursing homes that such data should be reported between Wednesday 12:01 a.m. and the following Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

DOH stated in the proposed rulemaking that it “...often finds itself in the position of having to call some nursing homes repeatedly to obtain this information. This regulation adds a new section 415.32 to Title 10 of the NYCRR to require that nursing homes submit bed census data on a weekly basis by electronically filing the Nursing Home Weekly Bed Census Survey. This will promote compliance and ensure that the Department has access to essential, current occupancy data as necessary to protect residents.”

LeadingAge NY was the only organization that submitted comments on the proposed regulation. We suggested that facility compliance could be improved if DOH would send the weekly reminder email to nursing homes on Wednesday of each week rather than on Tuesday, when they can immediately act on the reminder and enter the data into the HCS. We further asked DOH to ensure that reporting requirements are explicit with regard to specialty bed categories and whether they are properly included in a facility’s reported total capacity and census data. The Department agreed with these comments and will send the weekly reminder email to nursing homes on Wednesday of each week. DOH also intends to clarify reporting of current occupancy data, including specialty bed categories and total capacity, in a DAL. Further clarification will be available on the HCS Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS).

Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866