Pennsylvania Code › Title 55 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part III - MEDICAL ASSISTANCE MANUAL › Chapter 1181 - NURSING FACILITY CARE › Subchapter D - NURSING HOME REFORM-STATEMENT OF POLICY › NURSE AIDE REGISTRY SYSTEM › Section 1181.531 - Nurse aide registry system

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
					 Section 1396r(e)(2)(A) of 42 U.S.C.A. provides: "By no later than January 1,
					 1989, the State shall establish and maintain a registry of all individuals who
					 have satisfactorily completed a nurse aide training and competency evaluation
					 program, or a nurse aid competency evaluation program, approved . . . by the
					 State."
(b) The registry required
					 by OBRA-87 is established and will be maintained by the Department of Health in
					 cooperation with the Department and the Department of Education. Within the
					 Department of Health, the administration of the registry is the responsibility
					 of:
Nurse Aide Registry Section
Division of Long Term Care
Department of Health Room 526, Health and Welfare
						Building Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108 (717) 787-1816
(c) The registry is not required by OBRA-87
					 to include information relating to findings of nurse aide misconduct until
					 October 1, 1990. See 42
					 U.S.C.A. §§
												1396r(e)(2)(B) and
					 1396r(g)(1)(C).
					 The Department of Health is currently considering the promulgation of
					 regulations to make the OBRA-87 nurse aide training and competency evaluation
					 and registry requirements-including investigation and findings with respect to
					 reported staff misconduct-applicable to licensed nursing facilities within this
					 Commonwealth. If the Department of Health does not issue these regulations
					 before July 1, 1989, the Department will be issuing regulations for provider
					 facilities with respect to the inclusion of findings of misconduct on the
					 registry.
(d) Currently the
					 registry contains no names of individuals who have satisfactorily completed
					 approved training or competency evaluation programs, or both. The Secretary of
					 Health and Human Services (HHS) has not yet established requirements for nurse
					 aide training and competency evaluation programs. The Department, in
					 cooperation with the Department of Education, has not approved existing
					 programs under the statutory requirements of
					 42 U.S.C.A. §
												1396r(f)(2)(A). If HHS does
					 not establish its requirements before January 1, 1989, the Department of
					 Education will review programs for approval as of that date using the statutory
					 criteria.
(e) Once approved
					 programs have been identified, names of certified nurse aides will be entered
					 onto the registry upon notification from the Department of Education that the
					 individual has satisfactorily completed an approved nurse aide training and
					 competency evaluation program or a nurse aide competency evaluation program.
					 Section 1181.521 (relating to nurse aide
					 training and competency evaluation system) provides additional information on
					 the process for obtaining approval of the programs.
(f) A nursing facility will be required to
					 make inquiry with the registry about individuals they plan to use as nurse
					 aides. See 42 U.S.C.A.
					 §
												1396r(b)(5)(C). This
					 requirement does not become effective until January 1, 1990. Beginning on July
					 1, 1989, a nursing facility will be required to provide individuals used as
					 nurse aides by the facility with approved competency evaluation programs and
					 preparation as those individuals require to complete the programs by January 1,
					 1990. Providers will be limited in their use of unregistered staff as of
					 January 1, 1990. See 42
					 U.S.C.A. §
												1396r(b)(5)(A).
(g) An individual who is currently on a nurse
					 aide registry in another state and who seeks listing on Pennsylvania's registry
					 should contact the registry.