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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6672
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 4018
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING ENDOMETRIOSIS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 20-94d of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2023): 3
(b) Except as provided in this section, for registration periods 4
beginning on and after October 1, 2014, a licensee applying for license 5
renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing 6
education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such 7
continuing education: [shall: (1) Be] (1) Shall be in an area of the 8
advanced practice registered nurse's practice; (2) shall reflect the 9
professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health care needs 10
of the public; (3) shall include at least five contact hours of training or 11
education in pharmacotherapeutics; (4) shall include at least one contact 12
hour of training or education in each of the following topics: (A) 13
Infectious diseases, including, but not limited to, acquired immune 14
deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk 15
management, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural 16 Raised Bill No. 6672
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competency, and (F) substance abuse, including, but not limited to, 17
prescribing controlled substances and pain management; (5) [on and 18
after January 1, 2016,] shall include not less than two contact hours of 19
training or education during the first renewal period in which 20
continuing education is required and not less than once every six years 21
thereafter on the topic of mental health conditions common to veterans 22
and family members of veterans, including (A) determining whether a 23
patient is a veteran or family member of a veteran, (B) screening for 24
conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, 25
depression and grief, and (C) suicide prevention training; [and (6) on 26
and after January 1, 2020,] (6) may include not less than two contact 27
hours of training or education during the first renewal period in which 28
continuing education is required and not less than once every six years 29
thereafter in diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health 30
conditions, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, 31
delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression; and 32
(7) on and after October 1, 2023, for licensees working as a school nurse 33
or as a nurse for a school-based health center, shall include at least one 34
contact hour of training or education during the first renewal period in 35
which continuing education is required and not less than once every six 36
years thereafter in diagnosing and treating endometriosis, including a 37
review of (A) an educational toolkit regarding endometriosis developed 38
by an organization recognized by the Department of Public Health, and 39
(B) information on how systemic racism, explicit and implicit bias, racial 40
disparities and experiences of transgender and gender diverse youth 41
affect the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. For purposes of this 42
section, qualifying continuing education activities include, but are not 43
limited to, courses, including on-line courses, offered or approved by 44
the American Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, 45
Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a 46
specialty nursing society or an equivalent organization in another 47
jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other 48
health care institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited 49
academic institution or a state or local health department. The 50
commissioner may grant a waiver of not more than ten contact hours of 51 Raised Bill No. 6672
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continuing education for an advanced practice registered nurse who: 52
[(A)] (i) Engages in activities related to the advanced practice registered 53
nurse's service as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners 54
for Nursing, established pursuant to section 20-88; or [(B)] (ii) assists the 55
department with its duties to boards and commissions as described in 56
section 19a-14. 57
Sec. 2. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 20-94e of the general statutes 58
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 59
October 1, 2023): 60
(a) As used in this section: 61
(1) "Contact hour" means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing 62
education and activities; and 63
(2) "Registration period" means the one-year period for which a 64
license has been renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 and is 65
current and valid. 66
(b) For registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, a 67
registered nurse licensed pursuant to this chapter who is actively 68
practicing in this state, and a licensed practical nurse licensed pursuant 69
to this chapter who is actively practicing in this state, applying for 70
license renewal shall, during the first renewal period and not less than 71
once every six years thereafter, (1) earn not less than two contact hours 72
of training or education on [(1)] (A) screening for conditions such as 73
post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and 74
[(2)] (B) suicide prevention training, and (2) for such registered nurses 75
and licensed practical nurses working as a school nurse or nurse in a 76
school-based health center, earn not less than one contact hour of 77
training or education in diagnosing and treating endometriosis, 78
including a review of (A) an educational toolkit regarding 79
endometriosis developed by an organization recognized by the 80
Department of Public Health, and (B) information on how systemic 81
racism, explicit and implicit bias, racial disparities and experiences of 82
transgender and gender diverse youth affect the diagnosis and 83 Raised Bill No. 6672
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treatment of endometriosis. For purposes of this section, qualifying 84
continuing education activities include, but are not limited to, in-person 85
and online courses offered or approved by the American Nurses 86
Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut Nurses 87
Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a specialty nursing 88
society or an equivalent organization in another jurisdiction, an 89
educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other health care 90
institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited academic 91
institution or a state or local health department. 92
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Not later than January 1, 93
2024, the Department of Public Health shall establish an endometriosis 94
data and biorepository program to (1) foster research and clinical 95
collaborations to assist in understanding the pathology, drivers and 96
impact of endometriosis; (2) allow for the curation of information 97
regarding endometriosis from a diverse cross-section of communities to 98
ensure representation of all ethnic groups in such communities; (3) 99
support the identification of biomarkers of endometriosis to allow for 100
earlier diagnosis of the disease; (4) encourage the advancement of new 101
therapeutic strategies in the treatment of endometriosis, including 102
earlier access for Connecticut residents to the latest therapeutic options 103
as such options are developed; (5) support better care management of 104
endometriosis; and (6) serve as a centralized resource to disseminate 105
information, educate the public and raise awareness regarding 106
endometriosis to promote early diagnosis and treatment of adolescents 107
and adults. 108
(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 109
Commissioner of Public Health shall report, in accordance with the 110
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 111
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 112
relating to public health regarding the implementation of the 113
endometriosis data and biorepository program established pursuant to 114
subsection (a) of this section. 115 Raised Bill No. 6672
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 20-94d(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 20-94e(a) and (b)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require school nurses to receive training regarding endometriosis
and establish an endometriosis data and biorepository program.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]