Bill Commons

DE SB 281

died on adjournment

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TECHNICAL UPDATES FOR THE DELAWARE HOSPITAL FOR THE CHRONICALLY ILL.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · upper

Description

The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), through the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD), operates the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI), a Long-Term Care (LTC) facility in Smyrna, Delaware. DHCI is a facility of last resort for Delawareans that require a skilled nursing facility level of care and have no viable options for private nursing facility care. The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill’s name no longer reflects the dignity of all residents who live there. The existing statute uses outdated and offensive language, often referring to residents as “inmates.” It does not align with current policies and procedures around operation and maintenance of DHCI or the skilled care, screening, and admission of its residents, nor does it recognize DHCI’s role as a skilled nursing facility that maintains a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This bill provides a technical update to reflect DHCI’s current practices, policies and procedures as a LTC facility of last resort. It strikes outdated language and aligns the statute with current DHCI, state, CMS practices and requirements. Finally, this bill renames the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill to the Eleanor Cain Center. It will be named in honor of Eleanor Lee Cain, who served as the DSAAPD director from 1973 to 2001 and was a champion for older adults.

Introduced
2026-04-16
Status date
—
Latest action
2026-06-16 — Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NO 3 ABSENT
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Laura V. Sturgeonprimary
  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • David P. Sokolaprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Marie Pinkneyprimary
  • Russell Huxtableprimary
  • William J. Carsonprimary
  • William Bushprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Trey Paradeeprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2026-04-16

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  2. 2026-04-21

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 281 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  3. 2026-04-22

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 6 Favorable

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-05-05

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 281 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    amendment-passage

  5. 2026-05-05

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  6. 2026-05-06

    Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  7. 2026-05-14

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 9 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  8. 2026-06-16

    Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NO 3 ABSENT

    passage

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-05-05 · pass · 21-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • Eric Buckson: yes
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: yes
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: yes

  • 3/5

    2026-06-16 · pass · 37-1

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: no
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: other
    • Michael F. Smith: yes
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: yes
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: other
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: other
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=143113

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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