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S 5920

Relates to requiring telephones capable of making local and long-distance telephone calls be in every nursing home patient's room

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Dean Murray and 1 co-sponsor

Requires every nursing home patient room to have a telephone capable of local and long-distance calls, boosting residents' communication with family and caregivers.

REFERRED TO HEALTH
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Bill Summary · S 5920

Summary of Bill S 5920

Overview

Bill S 5920 seeks to ensure that every nursing home patient’s room is equipped with a telephone capable of making local and long-distance calls. The bill is currently in the Health committee stage, having been introduced on March 4, 2025 and referred to the Health committee (the record shows two identical entries of this action).

  • Bill number: S 5920
  • Title: Relates to requiring telephones capable of making local and long-distance telephone calls be in every nursing home patient's room
  • Status: Referred to Health
  • Introduced: March 4, 2025
  • Primary sponsor: Alexis Weik
  • Cosponsor: Dean Murray
  • Related bills: S 9532 (prior-session), S 4242 (prior-session); Assembly companion: A 5635 (companion)

Purpose and Intent

The bill’s stated aim, as reflected in the title, is to mandate that each nursing home patient room contain a telephone capable of making both local and long-distance calls. The intended outcome appears to be improved patient communication with family, friends, and care providers, as well as easier access to support services.

Key Provisions (inferred from the bill’s title)

  • Requirement that every nursing home patient room be equipped with a telephone capable of local and long-distance calling.
  • Compliance framework would likely specify who bears the installation and maintenance responsibilities (facilities, administrators, or a regulatory body) and may set standards for the phone equipment.
  • The bill would presumably address implementation timelines, enforcement, and potential exemptions or exceptions (if any).
  • The text would define terms such as “nursing home,” “patient room,” and “capable of making local and long-distance calls,” and would specify any accessibility or privacy considerations.

Note: The full legislative text is not provided here, so specifics such as cost-sharing, funding, maintenance duties, user access policies, disabled-accessibility features (e.g., TTY/adjustable volume), and enforcement mechanisms are not disclosed in the available data.

Who would be Affected

  • Nursing home facilities and administrators responsible for room amenities.
  • Nursing home residents who would be provided with in-room telephone access.
  • Families and caregivers who rely on direct telephone communication with patients.
  • Regulatory staff in health oversight agencies overseeing nursing homes.

Implementation Timeline and Process

  • Status indicates referral to the Health committee; no public timeline or effective date is listed in the available information.
  • As a health-committee bill, it would typically undergo hearings, potential amendments, and votes in the Senate before moving to the Assembly (and vice versa if it has companion status across chambers).

Legislative Context

  • Primary sponsor: Alexis Weik; cosponsor: Dean Murray.
  • Related bills include S 9532 and S 4242 (prior-session) and Assembly companion A 5635. These relationships suggest ongoing interest in improving patient-room communications in long-term care settings.

Considerations and Next Steps

  • Pending a full text, key considerations include cost to facilities, implementation logistics, maintenance responsibilities, whether calls would be free or billable, privacy protections, and accessibility features.
  • If the bill progresses, watch for committee votes, any amendments, and eventual floor action in both chambers.

For readers seeking exact language and specific provisions, the full bill text and fiscal impact statements (when released) would provide the definitive details.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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