BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' oversight of nursing homes would be strengthened, LGBTQ+ nursing home residents would be protected against discrimination, and better controls would be in place to protect against the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, under a new bill lawmakers passed this week. Approved on Thursday, the bill would require long-term care facilities to provide staff training on the rights of LGBTQ+ older adults and those living with HIV, and bar staff from discriminating based on a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, intersex status or HIV status. The proposal also would streamline the licensing process for “small house nursing homes,” alternative care centers that focus on smaller groups of residents and using familiar domestic routines.
Long-term care facilities would also be required to develop outbreak response plans to help contain the spread of disease and ensure communication with state health officials, residents, families and staff. The bill would also require state health officials to establish training programs on infection prevention and control, resident care plans and staff safety programs. The Department of Public Health would be required to come up with plans to let residents of a facility engage in face-to-face contact, communications, and religious and recreational activities.
Some long-term care facilities became hubs of COVID-19 transmission. In 2020, at least 76 people died in a long-term care veterans.