HJBR Sep/Oct 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2023 55 Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN-CNS, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing of the world’s premier licensure examina- tions. His profound knowledge and experi- ence in testing have made him a renowned leader in the world of psychometrics and an in-demand speaker on the subject. Sarah Luneau, project manager for the Louisiana Center for Nursing, has been working with Qualtrics to transition our SON annual reports to their format in preparation for the 2024 SON annual re- porting period. She has also completed the 2022 education capacity and nurse supply reports and has collaborated to produce the infographics with our contract graph- ic artist, all of which are available at lsbn. state.la.us/center-for-nursing/. LSBN has completed the reorganization of the credentialing department with the promotions of Stacey Jones (joness@lsbn.state.la.us ) to director of licensure and promotion of Cherie Johnson (johnsonc@lsbn.state.la.us ) and Laura Guillory (guilloryl@lsbn.state. la.us ) to licensing analyst supervisors for pre-licensure programs and applicants and APRN programs and applicants respectively. Jones will oversee all processes related to licensure applications and regulation of nursing education. Johnson and Guillory will supervise the licensing analysts in carrying out the laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to licensure and regulation of nursing education. Monique Calmes, DNP, APRN, FNPc, as chief credentialing officer, will be responsible for all functions of the division. For more information on all things re- lated to professional nursing practice, please connect with our website at https:// www.lsbn.state.la.us . n ipating providers, their license numbers, the participating advanced practice regis- tered nurses’ role and population foci, and any specialty practice areas of a participat- ing physician or dentist. Vincent A. Culotta, Jr., MD, executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners; Arthur F. Hickman, Jr., DDS, executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry; and I had our first meeting on June 28, 2023, followed by a meeting on July 26, 2023, to discuss public access to CPAs and collabo- rative practice between nurses, physicians, and dentists. LSBN already provides the required information on our website at “Licensure Verification - Louisiana State Board of Nursing.” We are working with our partners at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to iden- tify means of including physician informa- tion. HCR 100: This continuing resolution re- news the Health Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force to identify and study key health issues affecting rural areas to develop strategies to improve health outcomes for rural and under-served communities. Are- port is due to the Louisiana Legislature by Feb. 1, 2024. NCSBN Update: Phil Dickison, PhD, RN, formerly chief operating officer of NCSBN and chief examination officer, has been selected as CEO to replace David Benton, PhD, RN, FRCN, FAAN, who is retiring Sept. 30, 2023. Dickison is an RN and a prolif- ic researcher, with a PhD in quantitative research, evaluation, and measurement. Dickison recently shepherded the launch of the groundbreaking Next Generation NCLEX Examinations, an enhancement if passing, to be employed as an LPN. RN graduates of Louisiana programs will still have 4 attempts within 4 years to take and pass the NCLEX-RN examination. Forty-five days are required between each attempt. The act became effective Aug. 1, 2023. HB 652 (Substitute for HB 599)/ Act 296: This act provides for signature authority for APRNs to issue certifica- tion of illness and extended sick leave for teachers, teaching staff, and bus drivers. Act 296 became effective Aug. 1, 2023. SB 66/Act 322: Act 322 is relative to tele- health services. It provides for the practice of medicine or healthcare services through telehealth and provides definitions and rulemaking authority. It also repeals pro- visions of telemedicine and replaces the word “telemedicine” with telehealth ter- minology. The act becomes effective Jan. 1, 2024. SB 135/Act 207: Act 207 provides for Medicaid reimbursement for midwife services at a minimum of 95% of the re- imbursement rate for physicians; it also prohibits any decrease of the currently au- thorized reimbursement rate for midwife services for professional midwives and certified nurse midwives (CNMs). The act became effective on Aug. 1, 2023. SR 160: This Senate resolution urges and requests the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, and the Louisiana State Board of Nursing to make information re- garding collaborative practice agreements publicly accessible to patients, including but not limited to the name of the partic-