361-B - Women veterans coordinator.
§ 361-b. Women veterans coordinator. 1. Definitions. (a) "Veteran" shall have the same meaning as provided in subdivision one of section three hundred sixty-four of this article. (b) "Division" shall mean the state division of veterans' affairs. (c) "Women veterans coordinator" shall be a veteran, provided that a preference shall be given to a qualified woman veteran. (d) "State veterans nursing homes" shall be defined herein as all New York state veterans nursing homes, including but not limited to, the New York state veterans home, located in Oxford; the Long Island state veterans home, located on the campus of the state university of New York at Stony Brook; the New York state veterans home at St. Albans, located in Jamaica; the state veterans home at Batavia, located in Batavia, New York and any future veterans nursing homes located in New York state. 2. Such women veterans coordinator shall be appointed by the director. 3. Establishment of women veterans coordinator. There is hereby established within the division, a "women veterans coordinator" who shall work under the direction of the director and whose duties shall include, but not be limited to, the: (a) identification, development, planning, organization and coordination of all statewide programs and services to meet the needs of women veterans. This initiative shall include but not be limited to all services in state veterans nursing homes; (b) recommendation to the director to ensure compliance with all existing division policies and regulations pertaining to the needs of women veterans on the state and federal level; (c) liaison between the division, the United States department of veterans affairs advisory committee on women veterans, state veterans nursing homes, state agencies, community groups, advocates and other veterans organizations and interested parties; (d) dissemination of information on available programs and services to state veterans nursing homes; (e) provision of ombudsman services on issues pertaining to women in state veterans nursing homes, with a primary emphasis on health care and services unique to women; (f) provision of consultation services with health care teams within state veterans nursing homes to provide the division with a better understanding of the special needs and concerns of women veterans; (g) monitoring and tracking availability of adequate hospital rooms; appropriate maintenance of privacy, clothing and personal needs, and canteen projects specific to the needs of women patients; evaluation of satisfaction level of women patients with care received; and maintenance of relevant statistics pertaining to the provision of services and benefits to women at state veterans nursing homes; (h) development and maintenance of a clearinghouse for information and resources for women; and (i) preparation of reports to the director on the status of women veterans within New York state. 4. Reports. The women veterans coordinator shall submit a report to the director each year after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-nine which added this provision. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of women veterans served by the program. The director shall include such report or synopsis of such report to the governor as provided in section three hundred fifty-three of this article.