PRINTER'S NO. 531
No. 492 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY PISTELLA, HESS, DeWEESE, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI,
BELFANTI, BIANCUCCI, BROWNE, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CAWLEY,
CRUZ, DALEY, DeLUCA, DERMODY, FABRIZIO, FRANKEL, FREEMAN,
GEORGE, GERGELY, GOOD, GRUCELA, JAMES, KIRKLAND, LEDERER,
PALLONE, PETRONE, PRESTON, READSHAW, ROONEY, SHANER, SOLOBAY,
STABACK, WALKO, WANSACZ, WHEATLEY, WOJNAROSKI AND YOUNGBLOOD,
FEBRUARY 14, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 14, 2005
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Direct Care Advanced Training Program;
2 providing for tuition reimbursement and financial payments
3 for direct care employees upon program completion; and
4 conferring powers and duties on the Department of Education.
5 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
6 It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish a
7 foundation for career ladders in Pennsylvania for direct care
8 staff employed by long-term care facilities in an effort to
9 enhance consumer care delivery as well as consumer and family
10 satisfaction by improving employee recruitment, training and
11 retention.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Short title.
15 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Direct Care
16 Advanced Training Act.
1 Section 2. Definitions.
2 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
3 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
4 context clearly indicates otherwise:
5 "Department." The Department of Education of the
6 Commonwealth.
7 "Direct care employee." The term is limited to an individual
8 who is employed, contracted or referred in or by a facility as a
9 nurse aide who has successfully completed the State-approved
10 nurse aide training program and is certified and whose name is
11 listed in the Department of Health Nurse Aide Registry.
12 "Facility." A facility licensed by the Commonwealth to
13 provide long-term care, including, but not limited to, a long-
14 term care nursing facility, personal care home, older adult
15 daily living center, home health care agency and a home care
16 agency.
17 "Home care agency." An organization or part thereof,
18 exclusive of a home health care agency, that supplies, arranges,
19 schedules or refers individuals to provide activities of daily
20 living or instrumental activities of daily living on an hourly,
21 shift or continual basis to any person in the person's place of
22 residence or other independent living environment for which the
23 organization receives a fee, consideration or compensation of
24 any kind. The term does not include durable medical equipment
25 providers or volunteer providers.
26 "Home health care agency." As defined in section 802.1 of
27 the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the Health
28 Care Facilities Act.
29 "Long-term care nursing facility." As defined in section
30 802.1 of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the
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1 Health Care Facilities Act.
2 "Older adult daily living center." As defined in section 2
3 of the act of July 11, 1990 (P.L.499, No.118), known as the
4 Older Adult Daily Living Centers Licensing Act.
5 "Personal care home." As defined in section 1001 of the act
6 of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare
7 Code.
8 "Program." The Direct Care Advanced Training Program
9 established in section 3 (relating to Direct Care Advanced
10 Training Program).
11 "Qualified training site." A State-owned university, The
12 Pennsylvania State University and a community college, area
13 vocational-technical school or other setting approved by the
14 Department of Education.
15 Section 3. Direct Care Advanced Training Program.
16 (a) Program components.--An advanced training program for
17 nurse aides, to be known as the Direct Care Advanced Training
18 Program, is hereby established in the department. The program
19 shall consist of three categories of certification, as follows:
20 (1) Behavioral care. The training requirements under
21 this certificate category shall focus on:
22 (i) The additional requirements of care delivery for
23 patients with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or mental
24 illness.
25 (ii) Coping with stressful situations and patients
26 with behavioral problems.
27 (iii) Understanding the signs of behavioral
28 problems.
29 (iv) The communication of information about
30 behavioral problems to supervisors.
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1 (2) Restorative care. The training requirements under
2 this certificate category shall focus on ambulation, range of
3 motion, alignment, bowel and bladder training, transferring
4 and feeding methods.
5 (3) Leadership. The training requirements under this
6 certificate category shall include courses in team building
7 skills, supervision of peers, advanced communication skills,
8 organizational skills and certified nursing assistant service
9 delivery.
10 (b) Qualifications.--A direct care employee may receive
11 benefits and participate in any category of certification under
12 this act.
13 (c) Limitation.--Following completion of a category of
14 certification, a direct care employee may not enroll in another
15 category of certification:
16 (1) Until the facility has completed its financial
17 payment obligation under section 6 (relating to financial
18 payments).
19 (2) For at least 60 days following the final financial
20 payment by the facility.
21 Section 4. Training.
22 (a) Categories of certification.--No later than 90 days
23 after the effective date of this act, the department shall, by
24 regulation, develop a standardized training curriculum to meet
25 the minimum knowledge, education or training for each
26 certification category. The following shall apply:
27 (1) Each category of certification shall consist of a
28 minimum of 30 hours of classroom time.
29 (2) Each category of certification shall consist of a
30 minimum of 30 hours of practical training that leads to
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1 demonstrated proficiency. Practical training may be performed
2 in either a facility or a training laboratory setting.
3 (3) In developing the standardized training curriculum
4 the department shall seek input from representatives of the
5 higher education community with knowledge in long-term care,
6 representatives from vocational-technical education
7 institutions, representatives of Pennsylvania nurses'
8 associations, representatives from the Pennsylvania long-term
9 care community and representatives from consumer interest
10 groups. The standardized training curriculum shall be
11 designed to facilitate the maximum provision of services that
12 can be provided by a nurse aide without violating the
13 practice acts of licensed health professionals.
14 (b) Standardized test.--The department shall establish a
15 standardized test for each category of certification that shall
16 be utilized by all qualified training sites. Each standardized
17 test must show a demonstrated proficiency in both classroom
18 training and practical training.
19 (c) Limitation.--The department may limit the number of
20 direct care employees per year per facility that can apply for
21 each category of certification.
22 Section 5. Tuition reimbursement program.
23 Not later than 30 days after the promulgation of regulations
24 under this act, the department shall establish a tuition
25 reimbursement program component and application guidelines for
26 those direct care employees enrolled in each advanced training
27 category. The following shall apply:
28 (1) Tuition for each direct care employee enrolled shall
29 be paid by the facility.
30 (2) The department and the facility may determine
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1 eligibility for tuition reimbursement before a direct care
2 employee enrolls in any category of certification. However,
3 the direct care employee must successfully complete the
4 requirements for each category of certification before any
5 tuition reimbursement claim can be filed by the facility.
6 (3) A facility shall be eligible to receive tuition
7 reimbursement for a direct care employee enrolled in each
8 category of certification.
9 (4) The department shall only pay a claim for tuition
10 reimbursement upon a showing that the direct care employee
11 has successfully completed the requirements of each category
12 of certification.
13 (5) Tuition reimbursement shall be made in an amount
14 equal to one-half of the total costs paid by the facility for
15 each direct care employee enrolled in a category of
16 certification. Total costs shall include the cost of each
17 credit hour as well as books and materials required to
18 complete the course curriculum.
19 (6) The department shall pay within 30 days a claim for
20 tuition reimbursement filed by a facility in accordance with
21 this section.
22 (7) Nothing in this act shall prevent a facility from
23 seeking tuition reimbursement from any direct care employee
24 who does not successfully complete a category of
25 certification.
26 (8) Tuition reimbursement shall only be available to a
27 facility as long as funds are available through the
28 department.
29 Section 6. Financial payments.
30 (a) Payment to direct care employee.--A direct care employee
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1 shall receive a financial payment of $600 upon the successful
2 completion of a category of certification. This financial
3 payment shall be made by the facility to the direct care
4 employee over a period not to exceed 90 days.
5 (b) Condition.--The direct care employee shall only receive
6 a financial payment as long as the employee is employed by the
7 facility.
8 (c) Reimbursement by department.--Upon completion of the
9 payment under this section, the facility shall submit a claim
10 for reimbursement for the facility's actual financial payment to
11 each direct care employee. The department shall pay the claim
12 within 30 days.
13 Section 7. Certification awarded.
14 Upon successful completion of the requirements for a category
15 of certification, a direct care employee shall receive a
16 certificate from the qualified training site indicating the
17 individual's name, category of certification completed, the
18 qualified training site location and address and the date of
19 completion. The qualified training site shall also provide a
20 copy of the information to the long-term care facility.
21 Section 8. Annual report.
22 The department shall prepare and submit an annual report to
23 the General Assembly on the program. The report shall include
24 pertinent information regarding the effectiveness of the
25 program, as well as findings and recommendations for changes
26 that may be necessary to improve the program's outcomes.
27 Section 9. Effective date.
28 This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, or immediately,
29 whichever is later.
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