What's happening
This bill allows certified nurse aides in New York nursing homes to become medication aides and administer medications under nurse supervision.
Why it matters
Expands the workforce able to administer medications in nursing homes, potentially addressing staff shortages and improving medication delivery efficiency, but also raising questions about training adequacy and patient safety.
Sets strict requirements for new training, ongoing education, and direct supervision by registered nurses, signaling an emphasis on maintaining high care standards despite task delegation.
Mandates regular reassessment and direct observation of medication aides, which could improve accountability and ensure only competent aides administer medications, but may also create additional administrative and oversight burdens for facilities.
Requires detailed recordkeeping and supervisor review of medication administration activities, increasing transparency and providing a paper trail for quality assurance and potential investigations.
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Who cares
Certified nurse aides
The bill would allow them to become certified medication aides and administer medications in residential health care facilities after approved training and clinical practice.
Residential health care facilities and registered nurses
Medication aides would work under registered nurse supervision, with periodic direct observation and supervisor review of service records required.
Nursing home residents
The bill would allow trained aides to administer their medications, subject to certification standards, periodic reassessment and training requirements intended to protect safety and service quality.
New York State Department of Health
The department would approve training and clinical practice programs, and the commissioner would establish rules governing medication aide certification, practice and oversight.
Headline styles
Let Medication Aides Give Medicine
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6891
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 23, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. JENNE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to the administration of medication in residential health care facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2803-v to read as follows:
§ 2803-v. Nursing home medication aides. 1. As authorized in paragraph i of subdivision one of section sixty-nine hundred eight of the education law relating to the practice of nursing, nurse aides, as certified pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three-j of this article, as added by chapter seven hundred seventeen of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-nine, are authorized to be certified as medication aides and administer medications in residential health care facilities, as defined in this article, under the supervision of a registered nurse after completing a program of training and clinical practice in dispensing medications approved by the commissioner.
2. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to:
(a) define proper standards of practice to ensure appropriate certification standards and that services are delivered in a scope and manner consistent with the need to ensure the safety and quality of services delivered by medication aides;
(b) require that prospective medication aides undergo a program of training and clinical practice approved by the department to ensure that only capable individuals with required skills are certified and allowed to administer medications under the supervision of a registered nurse;
(c) require periodic re-assessment and training of medication aides to ensure necessary skill levels for certification are maintained;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09601-01-7
A. 6891 2
(d) require periodic direct observation of the delivery of services by medication aides; and
(e) require maintenance of regular records of service delivered by the aide and reviewed by a supervisor to ensure the accuracy and quality of medication administration activities.
§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 6908 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph i to read as follows:
i. As including services given by trained medication aides in residential health care facilities, as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law, if adequate medical and nursing supervision is provided.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.