STATEMENT TO

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 5059

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Assemblyman CONAWAY)

ADOPTED: MARCH 25, 2021

      These Assembly amendments remove provisions of the bill that would have required the Department of Health (DOH) to develop infection prevention courses specifically designed for licensed practical nurses and registered nurses employed in long-term care facilities and for all certified nurse aides, and instead require the Board of Nursing to incorporate the Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training Course offered through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or a successor course.  The Board of Nursing will additionally be required to review the current nursing curriculum and make or recommend such modifications as the board deems appropriate to ensure that licensed practical nurses and registered nurses receive adequate training on post-acute care.

      The Assembly amendments require the DOH to review the educational and clinical experience requirements for the certification and advancement of certified nurse aides and include in those requirements appropriate portions of the CDC’s Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training Course, or a similar course offered through the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology with respect to infection control or prevention in long-term care facilities, and any additional or supplemental modules or courses as the board deems appropriate.

      The Assembly amendments clarify that, when establishing a pilot program to develop standards for the professional advancement of certified nurse aides, the DOH may consult with a representative of one or more long-term care facilities in the State, and, in lieu of developing standards, may identify a model that contains standards for the development of certified nurse aides.

      The Assembly amendments revise the effective date of the bill from immediately to the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.