Wellness checks on older adults during certain weather events.

Summary

This bill would require the Commissioner of the New York City (NYC) Department for the Aging (DFTA) to develop a protocol in collaboration with NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM) and relevant agencies to conduct in-person and phone-based wellness checks during extreme weather events, including Code Blue and Code Red alerts, or during heat-related emergencies as determined by the National Weather Services or the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Wellness checks would include a set of questions developed by DFTA to gauge an older adult’s well-being, a determination of such older adult’s apparent well-being, an evaluation and report of the conditions in such older adult’s place of residence, including the temperature, the presence of and functionality of heating or cooling devices or equipment, and any other concerns in relation to the well-being of the older adult.

Committee