On December 16, 2020, the HCA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the following resolution. A PDF version can be downloaded here.
ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT
IN LIEU OF A MEETING
OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF
HOME CARE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK STATE, INC.
Adopted December 16, 2020
The undersigned, being all the members of the Board of Directors of the Home Care Association of New York State, Inc. (the “Corporation” or “HCA”), a New York Not-for-Profit Corporation, do hereby take the following action by written consent in lieu of a meeting pursuant to the authority of Section 708 of the New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
WHEREAS, the dramatic emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the potentially deadly coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”), has given rise to a global pandemic that has caused widespread infirmity and death, disrupted all sectors of society and led to unprecedented health challenges that affect virtually every aspect of life;
WHEREAS, the health care provider community has utilized and continues to utilize all available resources and protocols to provide the most appropriate care while at the same time successfully following well-established safeguards and precautions to limit and contain the ongoing spread of the potentially deadly COVID-19 disease;
WHEREAS, across the nation, the home care and hospice community has been and continues to be a visible leader in infection control while providing care to both infected and noninfected patients in home-based settings;
WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) recently approved for use in humans a vaccine that, according to both the FDA and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), is highly effective at preventing and containing the spread of COVID-19;
WHEREAS, the Advisory Commission on Immunization Practices at the CDC has recommended that home care and hospice personnel, along with other priority-one health care personnel serving the most medically vulnerable, receive at the earliest possible time the COVID-19 vaccination as part of the broader ongoing national strategy to contain and control the spread and impact of COVID-19;
WHEREAS, immunization of home care and hospice personnel, by helping to control and contain the transmission of COVID-19, will, among other things, ensure that those home care and other personnel are available to provide vital care to patients in home-based settings.
NOW THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of HCA does hereby adopt the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that HCA urges all health care providers in home-based settings to:
- Encourage their home care and hospice personnel, patients and caregivers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination at the earliest possible time;
- Provide the support necessary to facilitate COVID-19 vaccination access to their home care and hospice personnel, patients and caregivers;
- Provide access to comprehensive information and guidance to their home care and hospice personnel, patients and caregivers regarding the COVID-19 vaccination as part of the broader ongoing effort to facilitate well informed decision making about the efficacy and safety of the immunization; and
- Employ effective infection control measures, including those which contain and control the spread and impact of COVID-19, even as the COVID-19 vaccination is rolled out and administered to individuals throughout the nation in the coming days and months.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the undersigned directors have signed this action by written consent as of the dates set forth opposite their names below and do hereby direct that this consent be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of the Corporation.
-Signed, HCA Board of Directors