Posted By Madi Moyer,
Thursday, April 21, 2022
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It has been a few weeks since our last Policy Pulse. In that time, committee hearings ended for the session and there has been a great deal of behind-the-scenes movement with strong outcomes for every one of Arizona’s nurses.
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SB1311 the healthcare workers assault bill, was passed by the legislature and at this writing is on the Governor’s desk for signature into law.
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The OR smoke bill, HB2434, was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor.
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AzNA’s coalition healthcare workforce bill, HR2691, cleared the full House and through the Senate committees. It is being held for budget negotiations which are currently beginning in force at the legislature. (This is all good news, and your AzNA policy team is hard at work ensuring strong funding for Arizona’s nursing and healthcare workforce pipeline.)
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HB2098, establishing that psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners may perform psychiatric assessments in pediatric patients, in addition to psychiatrists and physicians, was signed into law by the Governor.
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SB1234, continuation of the Arizona Board of Nursing, was signed into law with a 4-year continuation.
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SB1640, which defines the minimum age for CNAs as 16 years old, was signed into law, opening up the possibility for more CNA training programs in Arizona’s high schools.
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SB1654, which establishes the requirement to have seizure management plans in schools, passed through the full Senate and House, and is on its way back to the Senate for a final read and then to the Governor to be signed into law. Importantly, this bill includes registered nurse practitioners as authorized providers to establish seizure management plans and protects school nurses from civil liability related to seizure management plans.
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SB1637, which ensures the right of health professionals to practice the profession for which they are licensed in any form of business entity or employee-ship, passed the full Senate and House. It is headed back to the Senate for a final read and then on to the Governor to be signed into law.
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HB2429, which ensures confidentiality for healthcare professionals, including nurses, who engage in a wellness program for health professionals including substance abuse programs, has passed the full House and Senate. It is headed back to the House for a final read and then on to the Governor to be signed into law. This is a bill that was originally targeted to physicians. Your AzNA advocacy team collaborated with our physician colleagues to ensure that nurses will also have confidentiality protections that allow us to seek the care we need in order to care for our patients and communities.
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SB1568, which establishes a clear set of expectations and timelines for health profession regulatory board investigations, has passed the full Senate, House committees, and is currently being amended for an expected hearing on the House floor. This bill seeks to avoid protracted periods for licensing board investigations of complaints against healthcare professionals including nurses. Your AzNA policy team has been working in close collaboration with our fellow healthcare profession colleagues to ensure that Arizona’s healthcare professionals have fair and just treatment in the case of a formal complaint investigation, and that Arizona’s health profession regulatory boards can operate with clarity about investigation expectations. This bill, when signed into law, will be a win-win for Arizona’s healthcare workforce and the public we serve.
Keep an eye and ear out for the budgeting process. Arizona’s current and future nursing and healthcare workforce is at stake. Make sure you know who your legislators are so that you can contact them in the next few weeks (we’ll let you know when) to advocate for the funding Arizona needs to educate, train, and retain world-class nurses.
Learn how the legislature works and master the policy process with Arizona Common Ground, an eight-episode educational podcast series (plus 2 bonus episodes!) that gives a behind the scenes glimpse of the state legislative system to familiarize the public health workforce on how health bills can become laws. Thanks to our friends at the Arizona Public Health Association for sharing this great resource.
By Krista R. Cardenas, MPH
AzNA Government Affairs Officer
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