Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires nursing homes to provide training to staff in behavioral health issues.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning training in nursing homes and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, shall establish a training program for nursing home staff, as described in subsection b. of this section, in the care of nursing home residents who have behavioral health issues. The training program shall include, but not be limited to: sensitivity to behavioral health issues among residents of nursing homes; information about depression and other psychiatric disorders, as appropriate; and the use of medication to treat those disorders.
b. A nursing home shall annually provide training specified in subsection a. of this section to a certified nurse aide, licensed practical nurse, registered professional nurse, and other health care professionals, as appropriate, who provide direct care to a resident in the nursing home.
2. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioners of Health and Human Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, to establish a training program for nursing home staff (certified nurse aides, licensed practical nurses, registered professional nurses, and other health care professionals who provide direct care to nursing home residents) in the care of residents who have behavioral health issues.
The training program would include, but not be limited to: sensitivity to behavioral health issues among residents of nursing homes; information about depression and other psychiatric disorders, as appropriate; and the use of medication to treat those disorders. The bill requires nursing homes to provide the training annually.