New Mexico Statutes
Article 1 - Public Health
Section 24-1-37 - Lay caregiver; aftercare; designation.

A. A hospital shall provide each patient or the patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate one lay caregiver following the patient's admission into a hospital and before the patient's discharge to the patient's residence.
B. As soon as practicable, a hospital shall attempt to consult with a designated lay caregiver to prepare the lay caregiver to provide aftercare. The hospital shall provide the lay caregiver with a discharge plan for the patient that describes the patient's aftercare needs. This discharge plan:
(1) may include, but is not limited to:
(a) culturally competent training on how to provide care and tasks;
(b) medication management guidelines;
(c) aftercare guidelines; and
(d) an identification of tasks that the discharging health care provider specifies;
(2) shall reflect the active engagement of a patient or lay caregiver in the discharge planning process and incorporate a patient's goals and preferences as much as possible; and
(3) shall educate a lay caregiver in a manner that is consistent with current accepted practices and is based on an assessment of the lay caregiver's learning needs.
C. A hospital shall allow a patient to change the patient's designation of a lay caregiver in the event that the originally designated lay caregiver becomes unavailable, unwilling or unable to care for the patient.
D. Designation of an individual as a lay caregiver pursuant to this section does not obligate that individual to accept the role of lay caregiver for the patient.
E. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require a patient to designate a lay caregiver.
F. In the event that a patient or a patient's legal guardian declines to designate a lay caregiver pursuant to this section, a hospital shall promptly document this refusal to designate a lay caregiver in the patient's medical record.
G. A hospital shall not allow the process of appointing or refusal or failure to appoint a lay caregiver for a patient to interfere with, delay or otherwise affect the services that the hospital provides to a patient.
H. In the event that a hospital is unable to contact a designated lay caregiver, this lack of contact shall not interfere with or otherwise affect an appropriate discharge of the patient.
I. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to:
(1) create a private right of action against a hospital, hospital employee, contractor having a contractual relationship with a hospital or duly authorized agent of a hospital; or
(2) remove the obligation of a third-party payer to cover any health care item or service that the third-party payer is obligated to provide to a patient pursuant to the terms of a valid agreement, insurance policy, plan or certificate of coverage or health maintenance organization contract.
J. A hospital, hospital employee, contractor having a contractual relationship with a hospital or duly authorized agent of a hospital shall not be held liable in any way for an act or omission of a lay caregiver.
K. As used in this section:
(1) "aftercare" means assistance provided in a private home by a designated lay caregiver to a patient after the patient's discharge from a hospital. "Aftercare" includes exclusively those tasks related to a patient's condition at the time of discharge that do not require the lay caregiver performing the tasks to be a licensed, certified or otherwise authorized health care provider;
(2) "discharge" means a patient's exit or release from a hospital to that patient's residence following an inpatient stay;
(3) "hospital" means a health facility licensed as a general acute hospital by the department of health;
(4) "lay caregiver" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older, who has been designated as a lay caregiver pursuant to this section and who provides aftercare to a patient in the patient's residence; and
(5) "residence" means a dwelling considered by a patient to be the patient's home, not including a hospital, nursing home or group home or assisted living facility.
History: Laws 2015, ch. 155, § 1.
Effective dates. — Laws 2015, ch. 155 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 19, 2015, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.

Structure New Mexico Statutes

New Mexico Statutes

Chapter 24 - Health and Safety

Article 1 - Public Health

Section 24-1-1 - Short title.

Section 24-1-2 - Definitions.

Section 24-1-3 - Powers and authority of department.

Section 24-1-4 - Creation of health regions; appointment of health officers; powers and duties of health officers.

Section 24-1-4.1 - Certified nurse-midwives; prescriptive, distributing and administering authority.

Section 24-1-5 - Licensure of health facilities; hearings; appeals.

Section 24-1-5.1 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-5.2 - Health facilities; intermediate sanctions; civil penalty.

Section 24-1-5.3 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-5.4 - Plan of growth; requirements; reporting.

Section 24-1-5.5 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-5.6 - Northern New Mexico substance abuse treatment pilot project.

Section 24-1-5.7 - Methadone clinics; regulation by the human services department.

Section 24-1-5.8 - Legislative findings; licensing requirements for certain hospitals.

Section 24-1-5.9 - Reporting requirements.

Section 24-1-5.10 - Federal participation required; exception.

Section 24-1-6 - Tests required for newborn infants.

Section 24-1-6.1 - Newborn hearing testing required; department of health.

Section 24-1-7 - Sexually transmitted infections; reports of cases.

Section 24-1-8 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-9 - Capacity to consent to examination and treatment for a sexually transmitted infection.

Section 24-1-9.1 - Sexually transmitted infections; testing of persons convicted of certain criminal offenses.

Section 24-1-9.2 - Sexually transmitted infections; testing of persons formally charged for allegedly committing certain criminal offenses.

Section 24-1-9.3 - Sexually transmitted infections; mandatory counseling.

Section 24-1-9.4 - Sexually transmitted infections; confidentiality.

Section 24-1-9.5 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-9.6 - Sexually transmitted infections; disclosure.

Section 24-1-9.7 - Penalty.

Section 24-1-10 - Pregnancy; serological test for syphilis.

Section 24-1-11 - Reporting of blood tests.

Section 24-1-12 - Health certificates; filing.

Section 24-1-13 - Pregnancy; capacity to consent to examination and diagnosis.

Section 24-1-13.1 - Pregnancy; prenatal, delivery and postnatal treatment to a female minor; capacity to consent.

Section 24-1-13.2 - Shaken baby syndrome prevention.

Section 24-1-14 - [Sterilization;] special qualifications prohibited.

Section 24-1-15 - Isolation; quarantine; protocol.

Section 24-1-15.1 - Protocol for management of active tuberculosis.

Section 24-1-15.2 - Conditions of public health importance; reporting.

Section 24-1-15.3 - Conditions of public health importance; testing; screening.

Section 24-1-15.4 - Individually identifiable health information; conditions of public health importance; confidentiality; use; disclosure.

Section 24-1-16 - Inspection definitions.

Section 24-1-17 - Inspectorial search by consent.

Section 24-1-18 - Inspection searches.

Section 24-1-19 - Emergency inspectorial searches.

Section 24-1-20 - Records confidential.

Section 24-1-21 - Penalties.

Section 24-1-22 - Scientific laboratory division; testing methods; certification.

Section 24-1-23 - Disclosure by medicare health care providers; limitation on charges to recipient of services.

Section 24-1-24 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-25 - Holly Gonzales experimental treatment fund created.

Section 24-1-26 - Repealed.

Section 24-1-27 - Purpose.

Section 24-1-28 - Behavioral health planning council created; powers and duties; membership.

Section 24-1-29 - Commission created; members; duties.

Section 24-1-30 - Hand washing facilities; requirement.

Section 24-1-31 - Save our children's sight fund created.

Section 24-1-32 - Notice of the need for further vision evaluation and availability of funds.

Section 24-1-33 - Communication regarding reconstructive breast surgery.

Section 24-1-34 - Primary stroke centers; comprehensive stroke centers; acute stroke capable centers; department certification; rulemaking.

Section 24-1-35 - Assisted living facilities contracts; limit on charges after resident death.

Section 24-1-36 - Statewide community-based adult fall risk awareness and prevention program.

Section 24-1-37 - Lay caregiver; aftercare; designation.

Section 24-1-38 - Hospitals; requirement to offer influenza and pneumococcal immunizations.

Section 24-1-39 - Mammograms; health facilities; breast density disclosure.

Section 24-1-40 - Department of health; New Mexico board of dental health care; annual report; biennial report.

Section 24-1-41 - Health facilities; certified nurse practitioners; certified nurse-midwives; privileges; parity with physicians.

Section 24-1-42 - Eligibility for state or local health benefits.

Section 24-1-43 - Reporting; medical aid in dying.