Bill Text: CA AB2850 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Nurse assistant training programs: online or distance learning.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 769, Statutes of 2018. [AB2850 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB2850-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Nurse assistant training programs: online or distance learning.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 769, Statutes of 2018. [AB2850 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB2850-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 2850 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Rubio |
February 16, 2018 |
An act to amend Section 1337 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2850, as introduced, Rubio.
Nurse assistant training programs: geriatric medication technician.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including the licensing and administration of health facilities, as defined, including skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities. Violation of these provisions is a crime.
Existing law requires skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities to adopt certified nurse assistant training programs approved by the department.
This bill would include a geriatric medication technician, as defined, within the category of “certified nurse assistant” for these purposes. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Over 1,100 people turn 65 years of age every day in California, and there are approximately 110,000 licensed skilled nursing beds in the state.
(b) About 25 percent of older adults will need nursing home care at some time in their lives.
(c) There is a shortage of qualified nurses available to meet the needs of patients in California health care facilities, particularly those patients in the state’s 1,200 skilled nursing facilities.
(d) California’s skilled nursing facilities currently
face a challenge not only in recruiting qualified nursing staff, but also in retaining quality nursing staff.
(e) With over 65 percent of our residents on Medi-Cal, California’s skilled nursing facilities are an integral part of the health care continuum, with over 13.5 million Californians on Medi-Cal.
(f) The occupancy rate of California’s skilled nursing facilities is above the national average and is currently at 88 percent.
(g) Certified nurse assistants are an important component of skilled nursing facilities, but unfortunately the workforce in that area is stagnant and extremely limited in various counties.
(h) Over 1,600 additional certified nurse assistants in skilled nursing facilities will be needed to meet the increased minimum staffing
level mandate by July 1, 2018.
(i) According to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in 2016, over 63 percent of skilled nursing facility direct care staff are certified nurse assistants, over 23 percent are licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), and over 9 percent are registered nurses (RNs).
(j) The California HealthCare Foundation has determined that: “... California may not have adequate numbers of nurses with appropriate skills. The result could be decreased patient access, higher health care costs, and lower quality of service.”
(k) The quality of patient care in California long-term care facilities is directly dependent upon the availability of an adequate supply of appropriately trained workers.
(l) Expanding the long-term care
workforce requires coordinated strategies that address wages, working conditions, educational opportunities, career advancement opportunities, and personal preferences.
(m) A survey done by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development found overwhelming support among facility nursing staff, residents and their families, physicians, and other members of the health care team for a new category of paraprofessional health care worker authorized to provide medication assistance under the seven-year Health Manpower Pilot Project No. 152 conducted in the County of Sonoma from 1988 to 1995.
(n) At least 18 other states allow appropriately trained paraprofessional staff to give medicines and administer certain treatments to nursing home residents, if they have been trained and certified, and are supervised by licensed nursing staff.
(o) The other states that allow the paraprofessional staff in nursing homes have reported quality outcomes, increased resident and staff satisfaction, no increase in medication errors, no decrease in licensed nursing staff levels, and have offered effective career ladder opportunities for certified nursing assistants.
(p) The creation of additional training and certification programs necessary to establish a new permanent category of paraprofessional health care worker who can provide medication assistance to patients in skilled nursing facilities should be included in the range of solutions implemented to address the workforce shortage.
SEC. 2.
Section 1337 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:1337.
(a) The Legislature finds that the quality of patient care in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities is dependent upon the competence of the personnel who staff its facilities. The Legislature further finds that direct patient care in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities is currently rendered largely by certified nurse assistants. To assure the availability of trained personnel in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, the Legislature intends that all such facilities in this state participate in approved training programs established under this article. This article shall not apply to intermediate care facilities/developmentally disabled habilitative, intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled-nursing, and intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled-continuous nursing which have staff training programs approved by the State Department of Developmental Services, general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, or special hospitals.(b) The requirement that certified nurse assistants obtain a criminal record clearance upon certification and biannually thereafter shall apply regardless of the setting in which the certified nurse assistant is employed.
(c) The department shall develop procedures to ensure that certified nurse assistants assistants, including, but not limited to, those certified as geriatric medication technicians, employed by intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled/habilitative and
intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled/nursing shall not be required to obtain multiple criminal record clearances.
(d) For the purpose of this article:
(1) “Nurse assistant” means any unlicensed aide, assistant, or orderly, who performs nursing services directed at the safety, comfort, personal hygiene, or protection of patients in a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility.
(2) “Approved training program” means a program for the training of nurse assistants that meets the criteria established and approved under this chapter.
(3) (A) “Certified nurse assistant” means any person who holds himself
or herself out as a certified nurse assistant and who, for compensation, performs basic patient care services directed at the safety, comfort, personal hygiene, and protection of patients, and is certified as having completed the requirements of this article. These services shall not include any services which may only be performed by a licensed person and otherwise shall be performed under the supervision of a registered nurse, as defined in Section 2725 of the Business and Professions Code, or a licensed vocational nurse, as defined in Section 2859 of the Business and Professions Code.
(B) “Geriatric medication technician” means a certified nurse assistant who has been certified as successfully completing medication administration training with a geriatric focus pursuant to this article.
(4) “State department” means the State Department of Public Health.
