Bill Text: NJ ACR95 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges DHSS to rescind or modify certain regulations governing federally qualified health centers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [ACR95 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-ACR95-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 95
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Urges DHSS to rescind or modify certain regulations governing federally qualified health centers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to rescind or modify certain regulations governing federally qualified health centers in New Jersey.
Whereas, There are currently 21 federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, operating in New Jersey as community-based primary care centers, which comprise a critical component of the health care safety net for the most impoverished citizens of our State, with over 1,000,000 patient visits being made to these centers annually by almost 350,000 patients; and
Whereas, FQHCs are located in Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties; and
Whereas, Although they vary somewhat in the services that they provide, the FQHCs all target the health care needs of the medically underserved within their respective service areas; and
Whereas, All FQHCs are staffed with well-qualified board-certified or board-eligible physicians who represent a broad array of medical specialties and are subject to stringent federal regulations in all operational areas; and
Whereas, Most FQHCs are located in high-density, urban areas and in rural areas with a large, diverse base of ethnic and minority residents; and the comprehensive services provided by each center are tailored to the physical, psychosocial, nutritional, and health educational needs of the communities that it serves; and
Whereas, New Jersey is one of only 10 states that continues to require the licensing of FQHCs, and the remaining 40 states do not appear to have experienced an increase in patient care problems as a result of no longer requiring these centers to be licensed; and
Whereas, These community-based primary care centers are similar to primary care physicians' offices, which are not licensed; and
Whereas, Physicians' offices that include only one operating room are not subject to licensure, although the services provided in those settings can present a far greater risk to patients than those provided by FQHCs; and
Whereas, Although the FQHCs have been providing mental health and substance abuse services to their patients for more than 40 years, the Department of Health and Senior Services has now decided to require separate licenses for primary care, mental health screening, and substance abuse counseling services; and
Whereas, Patient care suffers when patients cannot gain access to a FQHC because it is unable to provide services while waiting for licensing approvals; and
Whereas, The ability and efforts of the FQHCs in this State to serve patients, who would not otherwise have timely access to quality primary care outside a hospital emergency room setting, are being impeded by the more onerous licensure requirements adopted by regulation of the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, which should not apply to FQHCs that have met the accreditation requirements of The Joint Commission, the predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care in this nation, and comply with all applicable building code requirements; and
Whereas, It would serve the interest of ensuring the availability of high-quality, community-based primary care that is provided to the poorest New Jerseyans by FQHCs for the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to rescind or modify the more onerous FQHC licensure requirements within the New Jersey Administrative Code, as set forth at N.J.A.C.8:43A-1.1 et seq., which governs health care facilities that provide ambulatory care services; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature respectfully urges the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to take the following actions with respect to provisions of the New Jersey Administrative Code, as set forth at N.J.A.C.8:43A-1.1 et seq., which govern ambulatory care facilities, as those regulations apply to FQHCs:
a. delete the requirements governing a general dental practice as they are currently applied to FQHCs;
b. revise the definition of "operating room" to exclude a room that is specifically dedicated to one or more of the following: colposcopic or loop electrosurgical excision procedures; or cryosurgery;
c. permit each FQHC to employ an administrator and structure its organization as the FQHC determines will best meet its operational needs, provided that the center conforms with current medical practice standards and federal grant requirements;
d. permit each FQHC to designate its administrator as the administrator of a satellite site affiliated with that center, and to designate an alternate contact in the event that the administrator is inaccessible;
e. require that the director of nursing, or a person who holds a similar title, for an FQHC have at least one year of full-time experience, or its equivalent, in an ambulatory care setting, nursing, or nursing administration;
f. delete the requirements governing discharge, transfer, and readmission of patients as they are currently applied to FQHCs, since the actions governed thereby are not applicable to these centers;
g. permit the chief operating officer of an FQHC to designate a physician to serve as its medical director;
h. permit each FQHC to satisfy the requirement of having a registered professional nurse who is the director of nursing, or holds a similar title, on the premises during its hours of operation, by having another clinical professional or other qualified emergency medical services personnel on site during the hours of operation;
i. permit each FQHC to satisfy emergency services and disaster plan requirements by meeting applicable requirements of The Joint Commission;
j. permit each FQHC to satisfy the requirement of having a person with a health care background responsible for the direction, provision, and quality of infection, prevention, and control services by having a biannual review of the site by an infectious disease consultant or, if the center meets applicable requirements of The Joint Commission, having an infection control officer who is designated in accordance therewith;
k. delete the requirements governing physical plans for new construction or alterations, since these plans must conform with local building codes, and undergo review and secure approvals by municipal government agencies;
l. delete the requirement for FQHCs to maintain a separate room for washing dirty laundry for those centers that use only disposable laundry products; and
m. require direct notification of each FQHC by the Department of Health and Senior Services of proposed and adopted regulations in writing, with new language identified by bold print and deleted language printed in italics.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this concurrent resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the General Assembly, shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services and the Governor.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution respectfully urges the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to rescind or modify certain administrative regulations governing federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in New Jersey.
Specifically, the resolution urges the commissioner to take the following actions with respect to provisions of the New Jersey Administrative Code, as set forth at N.J.A.C.8:43A-1.1 et seq., which governs ambulatory care facilities, as those regulations apply to FQHCs:
-- delete the requirements governing a general dental practice as they are currently applied to FQHCs;
-- revise the definition of "operating room" to exclude a room that is specifically dedicated to one or more of the following: colposcopic or loop electrosurgical excision procedures; or cryosurgery;
-- permit each FQHC to employ an administrator and structure its organization as the FQHC determines will best meet its operational needs, provided that the center conforms with current medical practice standards and federal grant requirements;
-- permit each FQHC to designate its administrator as the administrator of a satellite site affiliated with that center, and to designate an alternate contact in the event that the administrator is inaccessible;
-- require that the director of nursing, or a person who holds a similar title, for an FQHC have at least one year of full-time experience, or its equivalent, in an ambulatory care setting, nursing, or nursing administration;
-- delete the requirements governing discharge, transfer, and readmission of patients as they are currently applied to FQHCs, since the actions governed thereby are not applicable to these centers;
-- permit the chief operating officer of an FQHC to designate a physician to serve as its medical director;
-- permit each FQHC to satisfy the requirement of having a registered professional nurse who is the director of nursing, or holds a similar title, on the premises during its hours of operation, by having another clinical professional or other qualified emergency medical services personnel on site during the hours of operation;
-- permit each FQHC to satisfy emergency services and disaster plan requirements by meeting applicable requirements of The Joint Commission;
-- permit each FQHC to satisfy the requirement of having a person with a health care background responsible for the direction, provision, and quality of infection, prevention, and control services by having a biannual review of the site by an infectious disease consultant or, if the center meets applicable requirements of The Joint Commission, having an infection control officer who is designated in accordance therewith;
-- delete the requirements governing physical plans for new construction or alterations, since these plans must conform with local building codes, and undergo review and secure approvals by municipal government agencies;
-- delete the requirement for FQHCs to maintain a separate room for washing dirty laundry for those centers that use only disposable laundry products; and
-- require direct notification of each FQHC by the Department of Health and Senior Services of proposed and adopted regulations in writing, with new language identified by bold print and deleted language printed in italics.
