26:2H-12.15 Regulations on use of unlicensed assistive personnel.

2. a. The Commissioner of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt regulations governing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel in licensed health care facilities, in consultation with at least the following: the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the New Jersey Hospital Association, the New Jersey Association of Health Care Facilities, the Medical Society of New Jersey, and the New Jersey State Nurses Association.

As used in this section, "unlicensed assistive personnel" means any unlicensed or uncertified personnel employed by a licensed health care facility that perform nursing tasks which do not require the skill or judgment of a registered professional nurse and which are assigned to them by, and carried out under the supervision of, a registered professional nurse.

b. The regulations adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall require, at a minimum, that:

(1) unlicensed assistive personnel employed by a health care facility meet the standards and requirements for education and competency evaluation prescribed by the New Jersey Board of Nursing pursuant to paragraph (26) of subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-24); and

(2) a health care facility, prior to implementing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel, establish a multidisciplinary committee, including representation from registered professional nurses, physicians, administrative staff, and unlicensed assistive personnel, to evaluate the need for using these personnel, formulate and adopt a plan to implement their use, and monitor the implementation of the plan.

c. The plan for implementing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section shall, at a minimum:

(1) require the use and specify the composition of multidisciplinary patient care teams operating under the plan;

(2) prescribe materials and protocols for the orientation and training of health care facility staff with respect to implementing the plan;

(3) provide for the periodic monitoring and evaluation of the use of unlicensed assistive personnel by the multidisciplinary committee established pursuant to subsection b. of this section; and

(4) require in-service training and educational programming for both registered professional nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel which include subject matter relating to the delegation of nursing tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel and the supervision of these personnel by registered professional nurses.

L.1999, c.436, s.2; amended 2012, c.17, s.187.