The majority of the Chautauqua County Legislature is going on record in support of a federal law which would protect the rights of residents in long-term care facilities during a public health emergency, although the support was not unanimous.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers voted 15-2 in favor of a motion supporting the Essential Caregivers Act.

The motion notes that in 2021 a resolution was introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney regarding caregiver access. “The bill allowed essential caregivers access to long-term care facilities to provide care and support to a facility resident during any public health emergency,” the motion states.

Legislator Susan Parker, D-Fredonia, said she has not seen the bill, but speaking as a registered nurse, she expressed some concerns in the motion. “There can’t be an absolute 100% any health emergency provision for caregivers to be allowed in a healthcare facility. On that basis, I am voting against it,” she said.

Joining Parker in her opposition was Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown. All other legislators voted in favor of it, except for Legislators Billy Torres, D-Jamestown, and Dan Pavlock, R-Sinclairville, who were not in attendance.

Parker was reached after the meeting and further discussed her vote in opposition. She noted that it is “not possible nor safe in certain situations, given the many known and yet unknown infectious diseases that require infection control measures that might require exclusion of caregivers from being allowed into long term care facilities to provide care and support to a facility resident for a specified period of time.”

She also was critical for the county legislature passing a motion on the topic. Motions carry no legal weight, but are designed to show the position of a governing body. “If the legislature really wanted to make a difference in how things work in long term term care in our county, which is our actual jurisdiction, we could do several different things — like discuss the problem in committee, ask for the county Health Department to investigate ways that the county handles caregiver access regularly and especially during public health emergencies in long term care, do a review of how other counties have addressed caregiver access issues, and work together to create a plan that addresses the issue in long term care in our county,” she said.

She also added that interim Health Department Director Dr. Michael Faulk should have been asked about the motion before voting.

According to a news release, Tenney’s Essential Caregivers Act would set a national standard to protect the rights of residents in long-term care facilities by allowing them to designate up to two essential caregivers who would be allowed to continue providing support to their loved ones in the event of a public health emergency. The bipartisan bill, which maintains stringent safety standards and protocols, seeks to ensure that the isolation and lack of care that long-term care residents were subjected to during the COVID-19 pandemic never happens again.

“New York residents in long-term care facilities had to wait months to see their family members and essential caregivers. Some never even had the opportunity to say goodbye before they passed on. Nursing and long-term care residents have rights, and we must ensure that they are never again violated during this or any future public health emergency. We must pass the bipartisan Essential Caregivers Act today to provide consistency and support to long-term care residents,” Tenney said in the news release.

The county legislature also passed motions proclaiming May as Older Americans Month, a motion proclaiming June 19 as Juneteenth in Chautauqua County, and a motion opposing waste disposal surcharges and requesting an exemption for Local Solid Waste Management Planning Units, which includes Chautauqua County. All of those motions were unanimously approved.