N.Y. Public Health Law § 2004-a: Coordinating council for services related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementia

§ 2004-a. Coordinating council for services related to Alzheimer's

disease and other dementia. 1. There is hereby created in the department

of health a coordinating council for services related to Alzheimer's

disease and other dementia, to facilitate interagency planning and

policy, review specific agency initiatives for their impact on services

related to the care of persons with dementia and their families, and

provide a continuing forum for concerns and discussion related to the

formulation of a comprehensive state policy relating to Alzheimer's

disease and services for persons with incurable dementia.

2. The council shall be comprised of twenty-one members as follows:

the commissioner of health, the director of the state office for the

aging, the commissioner of children and family services, the

commissioner of education, the commissioner of mental health and the

commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities

who shall serve ex officio and who may designate representatives to act

on their behalf. The governor shall appoint seven other members with

expertise in Alzheimer's disease, other dementia or elder care issues,

at least two of whom shall represent not-for-profit corporations whose

primary purpose is to provide access to experts in the care of persons

with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, that are part of a

statewide network of not-for-profit corporations established

specifically to respond at the local and regional level to the needs of

this population and that provide family intervention services related to

Alzheimer's disease in order to postpone or prevent nursing home

placements of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.

Eight members shall be appointed by the governor on the recommendation

of the legislative leaders as follows: the temporary president of the

senate and the speaker of the assembly shall each recommend three

members to the council. One of the three members recommended by the

temporary president and one of the three members recommended by the

speaker shall be a clinical or research expert in the field of dementia

and one of the three members appointed by each shall be a family member

or caregiver of a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other

dementia. One member shall be appointed on the recommendation of the

minority leader of the senate and one member shall be appointed on the

recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly. The commissioner

of health and the director of the office for the aging shall serve, ex

officio, as co-chairs of the council. Administrative duties shall be the

responsibility of the department. The members of the council shall

receive no compensation for their services.

3. Within one year after the effective date of this section, the

council shall establish community forums to gain input from consumers,

providers, key researchers in the field and other interested parties to

provide input and direction on developing a New York state plan for the

identification and treatment of Alzheimer's disease in the community. A

community forum shall be established in each of the following regions of

the state: Long Island, New York city, Northern Metropolitan New York,

Northeastern New York, Utica area, Central New York, Rochester area and

Western New York. Such state plan shall include but not be limited to

identifying best practices in working with persons with Alzheimer's

disease, best interventions for caregivers to help reduce caregiver

burnout, best approaches to training doctors, nurses and other medical

and non-medical professionals and paraprofessionals to identify

Alzheimer's disease, a community assessment of strengths and gaps in

community support services, ways in which to coordinate services among

various systems, different financing approaches to pay for community

support services and any other recommendations.

4. (a) The council shall meet quarterly or more frequently if its

business shall require. The community forums in the first year of

implementation count as a formal meeting of the council. The members of

the council shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for

travel and other expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the

performance of their duties. The council shall provide reports to the

governor and the legislature on or before June thirtieth, two thousand

nine and by June thirtieth of every other year thereafter. Such reports

shall include recommendations for state policy relating to dementia and

a review of services initiated and coordinated among public and private

agencies to meet the needs of persons with Alzheimer's disease and other

dementia and their families.

(b) The council shall additionally review and report upon the use of

clinically recognized, scientifically based, cognitive impairment

screening tools used to identify signs of and individuals at-risk for

cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease or other dementias,

in all settings of the health continuum. Such tools shall include but

not be limited to tools approved and/or recognized by the Joint

Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Agency

for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid Services (CMS), and others as determined by the council which

are used by health care providers, across all settings of the health

continuum. The council shall also review and report on best practices of

providers concerning early identification of at-risk individuals and

referral practices, the range of interventions and services available

for the cognitively impaired, and shall report its assessment of the

need and presence of such tools and practices in each sector of the

health continuum. The council shall further include in its reports any

findings concerning potential gaps of identification and intervention

for the cognitively impaired, the need for public education about

cognitive impairment, and recommendations to address that education

need.

5. The department shall serve as the focal point to develop

comprehensive coordinated responses of the various state agencies with

regard to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia and thus help to

assure timely and appropriate responses to issues and problems. The

department shall collaborate with the state office for the aging on

issues related to nonmedical support services for individuals with

Alzheimer's disease and other dementia and their caregivers. The

department shall collaborate with other appropriate state agencies to

establish a simplified coordinated assessment procedure for obtaining

needed services for persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.

6. The department, in consultation with the council, shall utilize

data and information compiled and maintained pursuant to this article to

coordinate state funded research efforts to ensure the most efficient

use of funds available for this purpose.