Bill Text: FL S0558 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Certified Nursing Assistants
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-16 - Chapter No. 2023-250 [S0558 Detail]
Download: Florida-2023-S0558-Enrolled.html
ENROLLED 2023 Legislature CS for SB 558 2023558er 1 2 An act relating to certified nursing assistants; 3 amending s. 400.211, F.S.; authorizing nursing home 4 facilities to allow their registered nurses to 5 delegate certain tasks to certified nursing assistants 6 who meet specified criteria; providing for the 7 designation of such certified nursing assistants as 8 qualified medication aides; requiring qualified 9 medication aides to complete annual validation and 10 inservice training requirements; providing that 11 qualified medication aides may administer medication 12 to residents only under the direct supervision of a 13 licensed nurse; requiring that medication 14 administration be included in certain performance 15 improvement activities tracked by nursing homes in 16 accordance with federal regulations; requiring the 17 Board of Nursing, in consultation with the Agency for 18 Health Care Administration, to adopt rules; amending 19 s. 400.23, F.S.; providing that the time spent by 20 certified nursing assistants performing the duties of 21 a qualified medication aide may not be included in the 22 computing of certain minimum staffing ratio 23 requirements for direct care provided to residents; 24 amending s. 464.0156, F.S.; authorizing registered 25 nurses to delegate to certified nursing assistants the 26 administration of medication to residents in nursing 27 home facilities if the certified nursing assistants 28 meet specified criteria; amending s. 464.2035, F.S.; 29 authorizing certified nursing assistants to administer 30 certain medications to residents of nursing home 31 facilities if they have been delegated such task by a 32 registered nurse and they meet specified criteria; 33 requiring the board, in consultation with the agency, 34 to establish standards and procedures that a certified 35 nursing assistant must follow when administering 36 medication to a resident of a nursing home facility; 37 providing an effective date. 38 39 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40 41 Section 1. Subsection (5) is added to section 400.211, 42 Florida Statutes, to read: 43 400.211 Persons employed as nursing assistants; 44 certification requirement.— 45 (5) A nursing home, in accordance with chapter 464 and 46 rules adopted pursuant to this section, may authorize a 47 registered nurse to delegate tasks, including medication 48 administration, to a certified nursing assistant who meets the 49 requirements of this subsection. 50 (a) In addition to the initial 6-hour training course and 51 determination of competency required under s. 464.2035, to be 52 eligible to administer medication to a resident of a nursing 53 home facility, a certified nursing assistant must: 54 1. Hold a clear and active certification from the 55 Department of Health for a minimum of 1 year immediately 56 preceding the delegation; 57 2. Complete an additional 34-hour training course approved 58 by the Board of Nursing in medication administration and 59 associated tasks, including, but not limited to, blood glucose 60 level checks, dialing oxygen flow meters to prescribed settings, 61 and assisting with continuous positive airway pressure devices; 62 and 63 3. Demonstrate clinical competency by successfully 64 completing a supervised clinical practice in medication 65 administration and associated tasks conducted in the facility. 66 (b) Upon completion of the training, competency, and 67 initial validation requirements under s. 464.2035 and this 68 subsection, a certified nursing assistant whose delegated tasks 69 include medication administration is designated as a qualified 70 medication aide. 71 (c) A qualified medication aide must satisfactorily 72 complete the annual validation and 2 hours of inservice training 73 in medication administration and medication error prevention in 74 accordance with s. 464.2035. 75 (d) A qualified medication aide may administer medication 76 only under the direct supervision of a nurse licensed under part 77 I of chapter 464. 78 (e) Medication administration must be included in the 79 performance improvement activities tracked in accordance with 42 80 C.F.R. s. 483.75(e)(2). 81 (f) The Board of Nursing, in consultation with the agency, 82 shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. 83 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 84 400.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 85 400.23 Rules; evaluation and deficiencies; licensure 86 status.— 87 (3) 88 (b)1. Each facility must determine its direct care staffing 89 needs based on the facility assessment and the individual needs 90 of a resident based on the resident’s care plan. At a minimum, 91 staffing must include, for each facility, the following 92 requirements: 93 a. A minimum weekly average of 3.6 hours of care by direct 94 care staff per resident per day. As used in this sub 95 subparagraph, a week is defined as Sunday through Saturday. 96 b. A minimum of 2.0 hours of direct care by a certified 97 nursing assistant per resident per day. A facility may not staff 98 below one certified nursing assistant per 20 residents. 99 c. A minimum of 1.0 hour of direct care by a licensed nurse 100 per resident per day. A facility may not staff below one 101 licensed nurse per 40 residents. 102 2. Nursing assistants employed under s. 400.211(2) may be 103 included in computing the hours of direct care provided by 104 certified nursing assistants and may be included in computing 105 the staffing ratio for certified nursing assistants if their job 106 responsibilities include only nursing-assistant-related duties. 107 3. Certified nursing assistants performing the duties of a 108 qualified medication aide under s. 400.211(5) may not be 109 included in computing the hours of direct care provided by, or 110 the staffing ratios for, certified nursing assistants or 111 licensed nurses under sub-subparagraph 1.b. or sub-subparagraph 112 1.c., respectively. 113 4.3.Each nursing home facility must document compliance 114 with staffing standards as required under this paragraph and 115 post daily the names of licensed nurses and certified nursing 116 assistants on duty for the benefit of facility residents and the 117 public. Facilities must maintain the records documenting 118 compliance with minimum staffing standards for a period of 5 119 years and must report staffing in accordance with 42 C.F.R. s. 120 483.70(q). 121 5.4.The agency must recognize the use of licensed nurses 122 for compliance with minimum staffing requirements for certified 123 nursing assistants if the nursing home facility otherwise meets 124 the minimum staffing requirements for licensed nurses and the 125 licensed nurses are performing the duties of a certified nursing 126 assistant. Unless otherwise approved by the agency, licensed 127 nurses counted toward the minimum staffing requirements for 128 certified nursing assistants must exclusively perform the duties 129 of a certified nursing assistant for the entire shift and not 130 also be counted toward the minimum staffing requirements for 131 licensed nurses. If the agency approved a facility’s request to 132 use a licensed nurse to perform both licensed nursing and 133 certified nursing assistant duties, the facility must allocate 134 the amount of staff time specifically spent on certified nursing 135 assistant duties for the purpose of documenting compliance with 136 minimum staffing requirements for certified and licensed nursing 137 staff. The hours of a licensed nurse with dual job 138 responsibilities may not be counted twice. 139 6.5.Evidence that a facility complied with the minimum 140 direct care staffing requirements under subparagraph 1. is not 141 admissible as evidence of compliance with the nursing services 142 requirements under 42 C.F.R. s. 483.35 or s. 483.70. 143 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 464.0156, Florida 144 Statutes, is amended to read: 145 464.0156 Delegation of duties.— 146 (2)(a) A registered nurse may delegate to a certified 147 nursing assistant the administration of oral, transdermal, 148 ophthalmic, otic, inhaled, or topical prescription medication to 149 a resident of a nursing home facility as defined in s. 400.021 150 if the certified nursing assistant meets the requirements of s. 151 400.211(5) and s. 464.2035. 152 (b) A registered nurse may delegate to a certified nursing 153 assistant or a home health aide the administration of oral, 154 transdermal, ophthalmic, otic, rectal, inhaled, enteral, or 155 topical prescription medications to a patient of a home health 156 agency licensed under part III of chapter 400 or to a patient in 157 a local county detention facility as defined in s. 951.23(1),if 158 the certified nursing assistant or home health aide meets the 159 requirements of s. 464.2035 or s. 400.489, respectively. 160 (c) A registered nurse may not delegate the administration 161 of any controlled substance listed in Schedule II, Schedule III, 162 or Schedule IV of s. 893.03 or 21 U.S.C. s. 812, except for the 163 administration of an insulin syringe that is prefilled with the 164 proper dosage by a pharmacist or an insulin pen that is 165 prefilled by the manufacturer. 166 Section 4. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 464.2035, 167 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 168 464.2035 Administration of medication.— 169 (1) A certified nursing assistant may administer oral, 170 transdermal, ophthalmic, otic,rectal,inhaled,enteral,or 171 topical prescription medication to a resident of a nursing home 172 facility as defined in s. 400.021 or may administer oral, 173 transdermal, ophthalmic, otic, rectal, inhaled, enteral, or 174 topical prescription medication to a patient of a home health 175 agency licensed under part III of chapter 400 or to a patient in 176 a county detention facility as defined in s. 951.23(1) if the 177 certified nursing assistant has been delegated such task by a 178 registered nurse licensed under part I of this chapter, has 179 satisfactorily completed an initial 6-hour training course 180 approved by the board, and has been found competent to 181 administer medication to a patient in a safe and sanitary 182 manner. The training, determination of competency, and initial 183 and annual validation required under this section must be 184 conducted by a registered nurse licensed under this chapter or a 185 physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459. 186 (3) The board, in consultation with the Agency for Health 187 Care Administration, shall establish by rule standards and 188 procedures that a certified nursing assistant must follow when 189 administering medication to a resident of a nursing home 190 facility or to a patient of a home health agency. Such rules 191 must, at a minimum, address qualification requirements for 192 trainers, requirements for labeling medication, documentation 193 and recordkeeping, the storage and disposal of medication, 194 instructions concerning the safe administration of medication, 195 informed-consent requirements and records, and the training 196 curriculum and validation procedures. 197 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.