SB 236 Text

ENGROSSED*
Senate Bill No. 236
(By Senators Prezioso, Hunter, Sharpe, Unger, Boley and Foster)
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[Introduced February 21, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated §16-5R-6 and §16- 5R-7, all relating to the Alzheimer's Special Care Standards Act; providing for training requirements for providers in health facilities on the subject of Alzheimer's disease; establishing an Alzheimer's Disease Registry within West Virginia University to act as a central information database for policy and planning and training development relative to Alzheimer's disease; and rulemaking.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §16-5R-6 and §16-5R- 7, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5R. THE ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE STANDARDS ACT.
§16-5R-6. Quality Alzheimer's and dementia care training required.
(a) Any facility providing services to residents in a care facility under the supervision of the licensed operator, including adult day care facilities, nursing homes, assisted living residences and residential care communities, shall provide training to all staff, employees and contractors on Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.
(b) The training shall include a basic understanding of
dementias; communication approaches and techniques for use when interacting with persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, prevention and management of behaviors common in persons with Alzheimer's or a related dementia, and activities and programming appropriate for these residents.
(c) The training curriculum shall include, at a minimum:
(1) Informational packets presented to and reviewed with staff, employees and contractors upon their starting to work at a facility; and
(2) Two hours per year of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia training as part of staff continuing education requirements.
§16-5R-7. Establishment of a central registry.
(a) There is established within West Virginia University the Alzheimer's Disease Registry. The purpose of the registry shall be to assist in the development of public policy and planning relative to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia and to identify training needs for health care professionals regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. The registry shall provide a central database of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia .
(b) The Governing Board of West Virginia University shall propose rules pursuant to section six, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code to permit the establishment of an Alzheimer's Disease Registry. The rule should provide for:
(1) Collecting and evaluating data regarding the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in West Virginia, including who should report the data to the registry;
(2) What information is to be maintained on the registry and for how long;
(3) Providing information for policy planning purposes;
(4) Identification of training needs for health care providers and facilities on Alzheimer's disease and related dementia;
(5) Providing nonidentifying data to support research of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia ;
(6) Development of curriculum for training health care providers on Alzheimer's disease and related dementia;
(7) The manner in which families and physicians of persons reporting to the registry may be contacted to gather additional data; and
(8) Information on available public and private resources.
(c) The information contained on the registry shall be confidential and all persons to whom the data is released shall assure patient confidentiality. No publication of information, biotechnical research or medical data may be made that identifies the patient by name. The rules promulgated pursuant to this section shall comply with the requirements of 42 U. S. C. §1301, et. seq., and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

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