PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 531 PRINTER'S NO. 3526
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
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, FEBRUARY 8, 2006
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 PROVIDING LONG-TERM <--
9 CARE SERVICES in an effort to enhance consumer care delivery as
10 well as consumer and family satisfaction by improving employee
11 recruitment, training and 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. BY A <--
12 STATE-FUNDED OR LICENSED FACILITY OR PROVIDER TO FURNISH LONG-
13 TERM CARE SERVICES TO CONSUMERS.
14 "Facility." A facility licensed by the Commonwealth to
15 provide long-term care, including, but not limited to, a long-
16 term care nursing facility, personal care home, older adult
17 daily living center, AND home health care agency and a home care <--
18 agency.
19 "HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES." SERVICES PROVIDED IN A <--
20 PERSON'S HOME OR AT A LOCATION IN THE COMMUNITY TO ASSIST
21 CONSUMERS IN FUNCTIONING AS INDEPENDENTLY AS POSSIBLE.
22 "Home care agency." An organization or part thereof,
23 exclusive of a home health care agency, that supplies, arranges,
24 schedules or refers individuals to provide activities of daily
25 living or instrumental activities of daily living on an hourly,
26 shift or continual basis to any person in the person's place of
27 residence or other independent living environment for which the
28 organization receives a fee, consideration or compensation of
29 any kind. The term does not include durable medical equipment
30 providers or volunteer providers.
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1 "Home health care agency." As defined in section 802.1 of
2 the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the Health
3 Care Facilities Act.
4 "Long-term care nursing facility." As defined in section
5 802.1 of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the
6 Health Care Facilities Act.
7 "Older adult daily living center." As defined in section 2
8 of the act of July 11, 1990 (P.L.499, No.118), known as the
9 Older Adult Daily Living Centers Licensing Act.
10 "Personal care home." As defined in section 1001 of the act
11 of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare
12 Code.
13 "Program." The Direct Care Advanced Training Program
14 established in section 3 (relating to Direct Care Advanced <--
15 Training Program).
16 "PROVIDER." AN ORGANIZATION LICENSED OR FUNDED BY THE <--
17 COMMONWEALTH TO PROVIDE LONG-TERM CARE AND SUPPORT SERVICES,
18 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A LONG-TERM CARE NURSING
19 FACILITY, LICENSED PERSONAL CARE HOME, ADULT DAY SERVICES
20 CENTER, HOME HEALTH AGENCY AND HOME CARE AGENCY OR HOME AND
21 COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES.
22 "Qualified training site." A State-owned university, The
23 Pennsylvania State University and a community college, area
24 vocational-technical school or other setting approved by the
25 Department of Education.
26 Section 3. Direct Care Advanced Training Program.
27 (a) Program components.--An advanced training program for
28 nurse aides DIRECT CARE WORKERS, to be known as the Direct Care <--
29 Advanced Training Program, is hereby established in the
30 department. The program shall consist of three categories of
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1 certification, as follows:
2 (1) Behavioral care. The training requirements under
3 this certificate category shall focus on:
4 (i) The additional requirements of care delivery for
5 patients with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or mental
6 illness.
7 (ii) Coping with stressful situations and patients
8 with behavioral problems.
9 (iii) Understanding the signs of behavioral
10 problems.
11 (iv) The communication of information about
12 behavioral problems to supervisors.
13 (2) Restorative care. The training requirements under
14 this certificate category shall focus on ambulation, range of
15 motion, alignment, bowel and bladder training, transferring
16 and feeding methods.
17 (3) Leadership. The training requirements under this
18 certificate category shall include courses in team building
19 skills, supervision of peers, advanced communication skills,
20 organizational skills and certified nursing assistant DIRECT <--
21 CARE service delivery.
22 (b) Qualifications.--A direct care employee may receive
23 benefits and participate in any category of certification under
24 this act.
25 (c) Limitation.--Following completion of a category of
26 certification, a direct care employee may not enroll in another
27 category of certification:
28 (1) Until the facility OR PROVIDER has completed its <--
29 financial payment obligation under section 6 (relating to <--
30 financial payments).
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1 (2) For at least 60 days following the final financial
2 payment by the facility OR PROVIDER. <--
3 Section 4. Training.
4 (a) Categories of certification.--No later than 90 180 days <--
5 after the effective date of this act, the department shall, by
6 regulation, develop a standardized training curriculum to meet <--
7 the minimum knowledge, education or training AND A SET OF CORE <--
8 COMPETENCIES THAT EACH DIRECT CARE WORKER SHALL MEET TO
9 DEMONSTRATE THE WORKER'S ABILITY, KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION, TRAINING
10 AND SKILLS for each certification category. The following shall
11 apply:
12 (1) Each category of certification shall consist of a
13 minimum of 30 hours of classroom time.
14 (2) Each category of certification shall consist of a
15 minimum of 30 hours of practical training that leads to
16 demonstrated proficiency. Practical training may be performed
17 in either a facility, UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PROVIDER or <--
18 IN a training laboratory setting. <--
19 (3) In developing the standardized training curriculum
20 AND SET OF CORE COMPETENCIES the department shall seek input <--
21 from representatives of the higher education community with
22 knowledge in long-term care, representatives from vocational-
23 technical education institutions, representatives of
24 Pennsylvania nurses' associations, representatives from the
25 Pennsylvania long-term care community and representatives
26 from consumer interest groups. The standardized training
27 curriculum AND SET OF CORE COMPETENCIES shall be designed to <--
28 facilitate the maximum provision of services that can be
29 provided by a nurse aide DIRECT CARE EMPLOYEE without <--
30 violating the practice acts of licensed health professionals.
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1 (b) Standardized test.--The department shall establish a
2 standardized test for each category of certification that shall
3 be utilized by all qualified training sites. Each standardized
4 test must show a demonstrated proficiency in both classroom
5 training and practical training OF THE CORE COMPETENCIES OF EACH <--
6 CATEGORY.
7 (c) Limitation.--The department may limit the number of
8 direct care employees per year per facility that can apply for
9 each category of certification.
10 Section 5. Tuition reimbursement program.
11 Not later than 30 days after the promulgation of regulations
12 under this act, the department shall establish a tuition
13 reimbursement program component and application guidelines for
14 those direct care employees enrolled in each advanced training
15 category. The following shall apply:
16 (1) Tuition for each direct care employee enrolled shall
17 be paid by the facility OR PROVIDER. <--
18 (2) The department and the facility OR PROVIDER may <--
19 determine eligibility for tuition reimbursement before a
20 direct care employee enrolls in any category of
21 certification. However, the direct care employee must
22 successfully complete the requirements for each category of
23 certification before any tuition reimbursement claim can be
24 filed by the facility OR PROVIDER. <--
25 (3) A facility OR PROVIDER shall be eligible to receive <--
26 tuition reimbursement for a direct care employee enrolled in
27 each category of certification.
28 (4) The department shall only pay a claim for tuition
29 reimbursement upon a showing that the direct care employee
30 has successfully completed the requirements of each category
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1 of certification.
2 (5) Tuition reimbursement shall be made in an amount
3 equal to one-half of the total costs paid by the facility for
4 each direct care employee enrolled in a category of
5 certification. Total costs shall include the cost of each
6 credit hour as well as, books and materials required to <--
7 complete the course curriculum. TRAINING PROGRAM AND STAFF <--
8 REPLACEMENT EXPENSES INCURRED BY THE FACILITY OR PROVIDER
9 WHILE THE DIRECT CARE EMPLOYEE IS RECEIVING THE TRAINING.
10 (6) The department shall pay within 30 days a claim for
11 tuition reimbursement filed by a facility OR PROVIDER in <--
12 accordance with this section.
13 (7) Nothing in this act shall prevent a facility OR <--
14 PROVIDER from seeking tuition reimbursement from any direct
15 care employee who does not successfully complete a category
16 of certification.
17 (8) Tuition reimbursement shall only be available to a
18 facility OR PROVIDER as long as funds are available through <--
19 the department.
20 Section 6. Financial payments.
21 (a) Payment to direct care employee.--A direct care employee
22 shall receive a financial payment of $600 upon the successful
23 completion of a category of certification. This financial
24 payment shall be made by the facility OR PROVIDER to the direct <--
25 care employee over a period not to exceed 90 days.
26 (b) Condition.--The direct care employee shall only receive
27 a financial payment as long as the employee is employed by the
28 facility OR PROVIDER. <--
29 (c) Reimbursement by department.--Upon completion of the
30 payment under this section, the facility OR PROVIDER shall <--
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1 submit a claim for reimbursement for the facility's OR <--
2 PROVIDER'S actual financial payment to each direct care
3 employee. The department shall pay the claim within 30 days.
4 Section 7. Certification awarded.
5 Upon successful completion of the requirements for a category
6 of certification, a direct care employee shall receive a
7 certificate from the qualified training site indicating the
8 individual's name, category of certification completed, the
9 qualified training site location and address and the date of
10 completion. The qualified training site shall also provide a
11 copy of the information to the long-term care facility OR <--
12 PROVIDER.
13 Section 8. Annual report.
14 The department shall prepare and submit an annual report to
15 the General Assembly on the program. The report shall include
16 pertinent information regarding the effectiveness of the
17 program, as well as findings and recommendations for changes
18 that may be necessary to improve the program's outcomes.
19 Section 9. Effective date.
20 This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, or immediately, <--
21 whichever is later IN 90 DAYS. <--
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