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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
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HB 2189: licensed health aides; rules
Sponsor: Representative Willoughby, LD 13
Committee on Health & Human Services
Overview
Requires the Arizona State Board of Nursing (ASBN) to adopt rules to implement the scope of practice for licensed health aides.
History
Licensed health aide refers to a person who: 1) is licensed to provide or to assist in providing authorized nursing-related services; 2) is the parent, guardian or family member by affinity or consanguinity of the Arizona long-term care system member receiving services who may provide licensed health aide services only to that member and only consistent with that member's plan of care; 3) has a scope of practice that is the same as a licensed nursing assistant and may also provide medication administration, tracheostomy care, enteral care and routine ventilator care and therapy and any other tasks approved by ASBN in rule; and 4) has supervision requirements that are the same as a certified nursing assistant (A.R.S. § 32-1601).
Established in 1921, ASBN exists to regulate the practice of nursing and the approval of nursing education programs. The ASBN consists of 11 members who are appointed by the Governor to serve a term of five years to begin and end on June 30. Six members must be registered nurses, including at least one registered nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or certified registered nurse anesthetist. One member must be a nursing assistant or a nursing assistant educator. Two members must represent the public and two members must be licensed practical nurses. Before appointment a prospective member must submit a full set of fingerprints to the Governor for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal criminal records check (A.R.S. § 32-1602).
A person who wishes to practice as a licensed health aide must file a verified application on a form prescribed by ASBN and pay all required fees. The applicant must submit satisfactory proof to ASBN that the applicant: 1) is a parent, guardian or family member of an individual who is under twenty-one years of age and who is eligible to receive continuous skilled nursing or skilled nursing respite care services; 2) satisfactorily completed the basic curriculum of and received a valid certificate from a training program approved by ASBN that includes medication administration, tracheostomy care, enteral care and therapy for persons under twenty-one years of age, and any other tasks approved by ASBN; and 3) satisfactorily completed a competency examination approved by ASBN (A.R.S. § 32-1645).
Each applicant for initial licensure or certification by ASBN is required to submit a full set of fingerprints to ASBN in order to obtain a state and federal criminal records check (A.R.S. § 32-1606).
ASBN terminates on July 1, 2026 (A.R.S. § 41-3026.08).
Provisions
1. Requires ASBN, by October 1, 2026, to adopt rules to implement the scope of practice for licensed health aides. (Sec. 1)
2. Specifies that the adopted rules must address at least the following:
a. updated training and eligibility requirements for licensed health aides, including specific requirements for licensed health aides to perform routine ventilator care;
b. an attestation process to ensure that a patient is suitable for licensed health aide-level care based on the patient's acuity; and
c. a process to collect annual data on the use of licensed health aides in Arizona. (Sec. 1)
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g. Initials AG/LK HB 2189
h. 2/3/2026 Page 0 Health & Human Services
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