Text of MN HF 4706 (2022)

1.1 A bill for an act​ 1.2 relating to long-term care; appropriating money to the commissioner of health and​ 1.3 the commissioner of human services for long-term care protection and support​ 1.4 activities and a temporary staffing pool.​ 1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:​ 1.6 Section 1. COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH; LONG-TERM CARE PROTECTION​ 1.7 AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES; APPROPRIATIONS.​ 1.8 Subdivision 1. COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in long-term care​ 1.9 facilities. $2,108,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the​ 1.10 commissioner of health for:​ 1.11 (1) contracts for teams to provide COVID-19 test specimen collection and vaccination​ 1.12 services to long-term care facilities; and​ 1.13 (2) activities of staff at the State Emergency Operations Center to support COVID-19​ 1.14 testing and vaccination in long-term care facilities, including but not limited to scheduling​ 1.15 and logistics management of specimen collection and vaccination teams and laboratory​ 1.16 services, monitoring contract performance, providing technical assistance and coordination​ 1.17 support to long-term care facilities seeking testing or vaccinations, and acting as liaisons​ 1.18 to long-term care stakeholders.​ 1.19 Subd. 2. COVID-19 testing for certain Department of Health staff. $333,000 in fiscal​ 1.20 year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of health to conduct​ 1.21 COVID-19 tests, in a manner consistent with federal testing requirements for nursing​ 1.22 facilities, on Department of Health regulatory staff who are required to enter long-term care​ 1.23 facilities to perform regulatory functions.​ 1​ Section 1.​ REVISOR EM/SQ 21-01032​ 01/07/21 ​ State of Minnesota​ This Document can be made available​ in alternative formats upon request​ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES​ H. F. No. 4706​ NINETY-SECOND SESSION​ Authored by Liebling​ 03/30/2022​ The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy​ 2.1 Subd. 3. Nurse triage line. $480,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general​ 2.2 fund to the commissioner of health for a contract for a nurse triage line that reports​ 2.3 COVID-19 test results to residents and staff of certain long-term care facilities and responds​ 2.4 to questions from these facilities.​ 2.5 Subd. 4. Staffing support to prevent COVID-19 transmission in long-term care​ 2.6 facilities. $631,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the​ 2.7 commissioner of health for contracts with infection control nurses and health care worker​ 2.8 monitoring staff for activities to prevent COVID-19 transmission in long-term care facilities.​ 2.9 Activities include but are not limited to assessing the infrastructure and capacity of long-term​ 2.10 care facilities to prevent COVID-19 transmission, providing technical assistance to prevent​ 2.11 transmission, contacting health care workers exposed to COVID-19, and assisting with​ 2.12 communications with health care workers exposed to COVID-19.​ 2.13 Subd. 5. Infection control strike teams. $888,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated​ 2.14 from the general fund to the commissioner of health to establish and deploy four five-person​ 2.15 infection control strike teams to long-term care facilities in the state experiencing an outbreak​ 2.16 of COVID-19 to provide targeted infection control support and advice to these facilities.​ 2.17 Infection control strike teams must be equipped with protocols for infection prevention and​ 2.18 control, methods to identify staffing solutions, local communication plans, and protocols​ 2.19 to assess facility needs and assist with supply procurement. Infection control strike teams​ 2.20 must coordinate with local public health departments and regional health care coalitions on​ 2.21 staffing and acquiring personal protective equipment.​ 2.22 Subd. 6. Appropriation availability; cancellation. The appropriations under this section​ 2.23 are onetime appropriations and are available until 60 days after the expiration of the​ 2.24 peacetime emergency declared under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.31, due to COVID-19,​ 2.25 or June 30, 2021, whichever occurs earlier. Any unexpended amounts that are not obligated​ 2.26 by that date cancel to the general fund.​ 2.27 EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.​ 2.28 Sec. 2. COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN SERVICES; TEMPORARY STAFFING​ 2.29 POOL; APPROPRIATION.​ 2.30 (a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the​ 2.31 commissioner of human services to contract with third-party staffing entities, for the​ 2.32 contracted third-party staffing entities to recruit, hire, train, and employ a temporary staffing​ 2.33 pool. These temporary staff, at the request of the commissioner, may be deployed to​ 2.34 long-term care facilities and other group residential facilities and programs experiencing a​ 2​ Sec. 2.​ REVISOR EM/SQ 21-01032​ 01/07/21 ​ 3.1 COVID-19-related staffing crisis on or after January 1, 2021. These temporary staff must​ 3.2 be provided at no cost to the facility or program receiving the temporary staff.​ 3.3 (b) Members of the temporary staffing pool described in this section are not state​ 3.4 employees.​ 3.5 (c) The commissioner must coordinate the activities described in this section with the​ 3.6 commissioner of health, the commissioner of Minnesota housing, and the State Emergency​ 3.7 Operations Center to appropriately prioritize locations to deploy contracted temporary staff​ 3.8 for up to 14 days. The commissioner must give priority for deploying staff to facilities and​ 3.9 programs with the most significant staffing crises.​ 3.10 (d) A facility or program may seek assistance from the temporary staffing pool only​ 3.11 after the facility or program has used all resources available to obtain temporary staff but​ 3.12 is unable to meet the facility's or program's temporary staffing needs.​ 3.13 (e) As a condition of receiving staffing assistance from the temporary staffing pool, a​ 3.14 facility or program must provide employees a total of at least 80 hours of paid leave, prorated​ 3.15 for part-time employees, to be used if the employee must isolate or quarantine due to​ 3.16 COVID-19 infection or exposure, except as provided in paragraph (f). Paid leave provided​ 3.17 under this paragraph must be paid at the employee's regular salary or wages.​ 3.18 (f) An employee who has exhausted emergency paid sick leave provided under the​ 3.19 federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act is not entitled to paid leave under paragraph​ 3.20 (e). A facility or program shall not require an employee to use the employee's existing paid​ 3.21 or unpaid leave in lieu of the paid leave provided under paragraph (e), unless the facility or​ 3.22 program:​ 3.23 (1) already provides additional paid leave that is for the purpose of the paid leave provided​ 3.24 under paragraph (e);​ 3.25 (2) compensates the employee in an amount equal to or greater than the employee's​ 3.26 regular salary or wages; and​ 3.27 (3) provides paid leave that is in addition to the regular amount of paid leave provided​ 3.28 to the employee under the facility's or program's regular leave policies or applicable collective​ 3.29 bargaining agreement.​ 3.30 (g) Facilities and programs eligible to obtain temporary staff from the temporary staffing​ 3.31 pool include:​ 3.32 (1) nursing facilities;​ 3​ Sec. 2.​ REVISOR EM/SQ 21-01032​ 01/07/21 ​ 4.1 (2) registered housing with services establishments, including those subject to assisted​ 4.2 living title protection and those not subject to assisted living title protection;​ 4.3 (3) intermediate care facilities for persons with developmental disabilities;​ 4.4 (4) adult foster care or community residential settings;​ 4.5 (5) licensed substance use disorder treatment facilities;​ 4.6 (6) unlicensed county-based substance use disorder treatment facilities;​ 4.7 (7) licensed facilities for adults with mental illness;​ 4.8 (8) licensed detoxification programs;​ 4.9 (9) licensed withdrawal management programs;​ 4.10 (10) licensed children's residential facilities;​ 4.11 (11) licensed child foster residence settings;​ 4.12 (12) unlicensed, tribal-certified facilities that perform functions similar to the licensed​ 4.13 facilities listed in this paragraph;​ 4.14 (13) boarding care homes;​ 4.15 (14) board and lodging establishments serving people with disabilities or disabling​ 4.16 conditions;​ 4.17 (15) board and lodging establishments with special services;​ 4.18 (16) supervised living facilities;​ 4.19 (17) supportive housing;​ 4.20 (18) sober homes;​ 4.21 (19) community-based halfway houses for people exiting the correctional system;​ 4.22 (20) shelters serving people experiencing homelessness;​ 4.23 (21) drop-in centers for people experiencing homelessness;​ 4.24 (22) homeless outreach services for unsheltered individuals;​ 4.25 (23) shelters for people experiencing domestic violence; and​ 4.26 (24) temporary isolation spaces for people who test positive for COVID-19.​ 4.27 (h) Notwithstanding any other law or rule to the contrary, the commissioner may allocate​ 4.28 funding to maintain and extend existing contracts for temporary staffing entered into using​ 4​ Sec. 2.​ REVISOR EM/SQ 21-01032​ 01/07/21 ​ 5.1 coronavirus relief funds awarded under 2020 Legislative Advisory Commission order​ 5.2 numbers 49 and 87. The commissioner may also allocate funding to enter into new contracts​ 5.3 with eligible entities under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.36, and may allocate funding for​ 5.4 the costs of training, testing, and personal protective equipment needed for temporary staff​ 5.5 deployed in the temporary staffing pool. The commissioner may use up to 6.5 percent of​ 5.6 this appropriation for the commissioner's costs related to administration of this program.​ 5.7 (i) This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2021, or 60 days after​ 5.8 the expiration of the peacetime emergency declared under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.31,​ 5.9 due to COVID-19, whichever occurs earlier. Any unexpended amounts that are not obligated​ 5.10 by that date cancel to the general fund.​ 5.11 EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.​ 5​ Sec. 2.​ REVISOR EM/SQ 21-01032​ 01/07/21 ​