1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; modifying training requirements 
  1.3             for nursing assistants; requiring an evaluation; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144A.61, 
  1.5             subdivisions 2 and 3a. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144A.61, 
  1.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 2.  [NURSING ASSISTANTS.] For the purposes of this 
  1.10  section and section 144A.611 "nursing assistant" means a nursing 
  1.11  home or certified boarding care home employee, including a 
  1.12  nurse's aide or an orderly, who is assigned by the director of 
  1.13  nursing to provide or assist in the provision of nursing or 
  1.14  nursing-related services under the supervision of a registered 
  1.15  nurse.  "Nursing assistant" includes nursing assistants employed 
  1.16  by nursing pool companies but does not include a licensed health 
  1.17  professional.  ~~The commissioner of health may, by rule,~~ 
  1.18  ~~establish categories of nursing assistants who are not required~~ 
  1.19  ~~to comply with the educational requirements of this section and~~ 
  1.20  ~~section 144A.611.~~ 
  1.21     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144A.61, 
  1.22  subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
  1.23     Subd. 3a.  [COMPETENCY EVALUATION PROGRAM.] The 
  1.24  commissioner of health shall approve the competency evaluation 
  1.25  program.  A competency evaluation must be administered to 
  2.1   ~~nursing assistants~~ persons who desire to be listed in the 
  2.2   nursing assistant registry ~~and who have done one of the~~ 
  2.3   ~~following:  (1) completed an approved training program; or (2)~~ 
  2.4   ~~are enrolled in a licensed nurse education program~~.  The tests 
  2.5   may only be administered by technical colleges, community 
  2.6   colleges, or other organizations approved by the department of 
  2.7   health.  The commissioner of health shall approve a nursing 
  2.8   assistant for the registry without requiring a competency 
  2.9   evaluation if the nursing assistant is in good standing on a 
  2.10  nursing assistant registry in another state. 
  2.11     Sec. 3.  [EVALUATION OF MODIFICATIONS IN COMPETENCY 
  2.12  EVALUATION PROGRAM.] 
  2.13     After one year of implementation, the commissioner of 
  2.14  health shall evaluate the impact of allowing persons to take a 
  2.15  nursing assistant competency evaluation test without first 
  2.16  completing an approved training program or enrolling in a 
  2.17  licensed nurse education program.  The evaluation must include a 
  2.18  determination of the positive and negative impact, if any, of 
  2.19  allowing persons to qualify as nursing assistants without 
  2.20  completing a training program.  The result of the evaluation 
  2.21  must be reported to the chairs of the house health and human 
  2.22  services committee and the senate health and family security 
  2.23  committee by December 1, 2000.