NYS Human Trafficking Training Law Webinar Series – First Webinar
GNYHA and HANYS co-host the first webinar in a series on the New York State human trafficking training law to provide hospitals with relevant information on implementing the law’s requirements.
The webinar series was developed in response to the passage of § 2805-Y of the New York State Public Health Law, which requires hospitals to establish and implement policies and procedures to identify and assess victims of human trafficking and provide training to staff on such policies and procedures. The legislation went into effect in November 2017.
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued a “Dear Administrator” letter in March to inform hospitals of the legislation (please see Community Health Bulletin-1 for more information), but DOH has yet to issue implementing regulations.
The objectives of the educational series are to help hospitals 1) understand the requirements of Public Health Law § 2805-Y, 2) develop policies, procedures, and training that are consistent with the requirements, 3) understand the prevalence of human trafficking nationwide and in New York State, and 4) the role hospitals play in caring for victims of human trafficking.
The series will include external resources and contact information for hospitals on this issue. The first webinar will feature the following presenters and the topics they will present on:
- Ruth Leslie, DOH’s Director of the Division of Hospitals and Diagnostic & Treatment Centers. Ms. Leslie will review the requirements for hospitals under Public Health Law § 2805-Y, DOH’s expectations for hospitals, and what the implementing regulations may look like.
- Chris Muller, Director of Training and External Affairs, Restore NYC, a nonprofit organization with a mission to end sex trafficking in New York and provide services to foreign-national survivors of sex trafficking. Restore NYC will provide an overview of human trafficking, including what it is, how it presents itself in the health care setting, and how providers can identify, assess, and respond to survivors of human trafficking.
- Santhosh Paulus, Human Trafficking Response Program System Task Force Leader, Huntington Hospital (Northwell Health). Dr. Paulus launched a pilot program at Huntington Hospital to train hospital staff on recognizing and providing support to victims of human trafficking. Dr. Paulus launched the pilot program prior to the legislation going into effect in November 2017, but he will describe how he has adapted the pilot program to the law’s requirements, the challenges of creating policies and procedures, getting staff trained on the issue of human trafficking, and best practices to creating a similar program within your organization.