Comments on SED Advanced Home Health Aide Regulations Due Friday
Members are reminded that the Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) regulations issued by the New York State Education Department (SED) were published in the June 27th State Register and are available for public comment until Aug. 26th. The regulations establish AHHA tasks, require direct supervision of AHHAs by registered professional nurses, and set up the training and competency requirements for the role. To qualify for certification as an AHHA, a person must be listed on the home care worker registry as a certified home health aide; have at least one year of providing home health or personal care, or a combination of both; and complete a training program and examination.
The SED regulations specify the types of routine medications and advanced tasks that an AHHA may undertake, provided a systematic approach to address drug diversion is in place. They include:
- administration of certain routine medication;
- a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of low molecular weight heparin or medication prescribed to treat diabetes; and
- the use of a prefilled auto-injector of naloxone or epinephrine in an emergency.
Advanced tasks shall not include:
- converting or calculating the dose of any medication or determining a client’s need for medications;
- medication administration through enteral feeding tubes, including, but not limited to, gastrostomy or nasogastric tubes;
- medication administration parenterally, except for certain routine medications and injections as expressly provided for in this paragraph;
- tasks involving the use of intravenous or subcutaneous infusion devices on a client;
- tasks involving the use of a mechanical ventilator on a client;
- tasks involving sterile or aseptic technique, except for the administration of injections as expressly provided for in this paragraph;
- tasks involving professional nursing judgment, observation, monitoring, or assessment of a client; and
- tasks that are outside the scope of practice of a licensed practical nurse.
To view the SED draft regulations, click here. Please email Meg Everett with feedback on the draft regulations, as LeadingAge NY will be providing comment at the end of this week. You may also provide comment directly to the Office of the Professions, Office of the Deputy Commissioner, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, 2M, Albany, NY 12234, 518-486-1765, email opdepcom@nysed.gov.
LeadingAge NY recently submitted comments on the AHHA regulatory proposal from the Department of Health (DOH). The SED and DOH regulations were developed collaboratively, and thus there is a great deal of consistency. Click here for more information.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org or Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383