Substitute Senate Bill No. 243
AN ACT CONCERNING TRAINING IN PAIN MANAGEMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-521 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2009):
As used in this section and sections 19a-522 to 19a-534a, inclusive, 19a-536 to 19a-539, inclusive, [and] 19a-550 to 19a-554, inclusive, and 19a-562a, as amended by this act, unless the context otherwise requires: "Nursing home facility" means any nursing home or residential care home as defined in section 19a-490 or any rest home with nursing supervision which provides, in addition to personal care required in a residential care home, nursing supervision under a medical director twenty-four hours per day, or any chronic and convalescent nursing home which provides skilled nursing care under medical supervision and direction to carry out nonsurgical treatment and dietary procedures for chronic diseases, convalescent stages, acute diseases or injuries; "department" means the Department of Public Health and "commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health or the commissioner's designated representative.
Sec. 2. Section 19a-562a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2009):
(a) Each nursing home facility that is not a residential care home or an Alzheimer's special care unit or program shall annually provide a minimum of two hours of training in pain recognition and administration of pain management techniques to all licensed and registered direct care staff and nurse's aides who provide direct patient care to residents.
[(a)] (b) Each Alzheimer's special care unit or program shall annually provide Alzheimer's and dementia specific training to all licensed and registered direct care staff and nurse's aides who provide direct patient care to residents enrolled in the Alzheimer's special care unit or program. Such requirements shall include, but not be limited to, (1) not less than eight hours of dementia-specific training, which shall be completed not later than six months after the date of employment and not less than eight hours of such training annually thereafter, and (2) annual training of not less than two hours in pain recognition and administration of pain management techniques for direct care staff.
[(b)] (c) Each Alzheimer's special care unit or program shall annually provide a minimum of one hour of Alzheimer's and dementia specific training to all unlicensed and unregistered staff, except nurse's aides, who provide services and care to residents enrolled in the Alzheimer's special care unit or program. For such staff hired on or after October 1, 2007, such training shall be completed not later than six months after the date of employment.
Approved June 5, 2009