HJBR Nov/Dec 2019

Healthcare Journal of BATON ROUGE I  NOV / DEC 2019 45 Karen C. Lyon, PhD APRN, NEA CEO Louisiana State Board of Nursing ees want to be called NPs rather than APRNs; CRNAs want to change their title to nurse anesthesiologist. First, it is be- lieved that changing the APRN title will have an impact on federal regulations at CMS that impact billing. Second, states are still striving to adopt the model, and we need to strive towards consistency. Third, the public is still learning the titles, and changing them now would cause more confusion than anything else. It is believed by the group that changing the CRNA title to nurse anesthesiologist would only exacerbate existing tensions with physicians. We need to support ac- cess to care in rural communities. Some believe there is a need for a generalist category of APRNs, and gave the ex- ample of physician assistants not being restricted to a role and population, and some cited physicians not being restrict- ed. • During the past year, the board of di- rectors also upheld the existing passing standard for the NCLEX-RN examina- tion. That standard will hold through March 31 of 2022. A committee was con- vened to focus on any needed revisions or updates to the Model Act and Rules. • As a product of NCSBN collaboration with the American Nurses Association, a revised position statement on delegation was published. Another collaborative ef- fort, which engaged consumers, was the request for the Citizens Advocacy Cen- ter to review and comment on Regula- tion 2030. NCSBN continues to seek out others to help develop an introspective view of Nursing Regulation, and what it means to the larger nursing and con- sumer audience. • Finally, an official invitation was ex- tended for membership of NCSBN in the Tri-Council. The Tri-Council is a long-established alliance of the Amer- ican Nurses Association, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National League of Nursing, and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. NCSBN became a full mem- ber of the Tri-Council this year. LSBN 3rd Quarter Update Education/Examination Department In the education/examination depart- ment, Troy University was re-approved to offer graduate clinical experiences in Lou- isiana through October 12, 2022 for FNP, DNP, and MS to DNP; Southwest Missis- sippi College was approved to offer under- graduate clinical experiences for associate degree students in Louisiana until Feb- ruary 16, 2023 for NURS 2110 Health and Illness Concepts, and NURS 2210 Complex Health and Illness Concepts. Louisiana Center for Nursing Dr. Bienemy reported on the 2019 Cul- ture of Health Summit, which will be held October 8, 2019 at the Pennington Bio- medical Research Center in Baton Rouge. Catherine Alicia Georges, EdD, RN, FAAN, AARP’s national volunteer president, will serve as the keynote speaker. Dr. Barbara Nichols, DNSc (hon), MS, RN, FAAN, ex- ecutive director for the Wisconsin Center for Nursing, will be the endnote speaker. Dr. Nichols is also the national diversity consultant for the Louisiana Action Co- alition (LAC). A panel of mayors, led by Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, will share information about initiatives Louisiana is spearheading to build a culture of health throughout the state. Compliance Division In the compliance division, Wanda Woods-Matthews, chief compliance of- ficer, reported that Victory Addiction Center in Lafayette has been approved as a board recognized treatment center. There are currently 812 cases being investigated by LSBN. Office of General Counsel The hearings department has officially moved from compliance to the Office of General Counsel, under the direction of Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel Car- rie Jones. Two new paralegals have been hired for the department: Jasimiel North- ern and Reyna Witt. Occupational Licensing Review Commission The commission was established in 2018, most notably to ensure antitrust issues were addressed through any rule changes for any agency or board in the state of Louisiana. The commission is in place to exercise oversight authority over the establishment of rules in the Louisi- ana Administrative Code, which have the potential to be overly burdensome to Lou- isiana citizens, or could possibly violate federal or state law. The commission met for the second time on August 22, 2019. Ms. Jones repre- sented the agency as general counsel. Two new rule changes to bring LSBN rules in compliance with board of directors’ by- laws regarding LSBN board officers and meetings, 3303 and 3307, which had been approved at the June 13, 2019 board meet- ing, were approved to move forward in the rulemaking process. The commission is next scheduled to meet October 30, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in House Committee Room5. n