(20 ILCS 2310/2310-434)

Sec. 2310-434. Certified Nursing Assistant Intern Program.

(a) As used in this Section, "facility" means a facility licensed by the Department under the Nursing Home Care Act, the MC/DD Act, or the ID/DD Community Care Act or an establishment licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act.

(b) The Department shall establish or approve a Certified Nursing Assistant Intern Program to address the increasing need for trained health care workers and provide additional pathways for individuals to become certified nursing assistants. Upon successful completion of the classroom education and on-the-job training requirements of the Program required under this Section, an individual may provide, at a facility, the patient and resident care services determined under the Program and may perform the procedures listed under subsection (e).

(c) In order to qualify as a certified nursing assistant intern, an individual shall successfully complete at least 8 hours of classroom education on the services and procedures determined under the Program and listed under subsection (e). The classroom education shall be:

(1) taken within the facility where the certified nursing assistant intern will be employed;

(2) proctored by either an advanced practice registered nurse or a registered nurse who holds a bachelor's degree in nursing, has a minimum of 3 years of continuous experience in geriatric care, or is certified as a nursing assistant instructor; and

(3) satisfied by the successful completion of an approved 8-hour online training course or in-person group training.

(d) In order to qualify as a certified nursing assistant intern, an individual shall successfully complete at least 24 hours of on-the-job training in the services and procedures determined under the Program and listed under subsection (e), as follows:

(1) The training program instructor shall be either an advanced practice registered nurse or a registered nurse who holds a bachelor's degree in nursing, has a minimum of 3 years of continuous experience in geriatric care, or is certified as a nursing assistant instructor.

(2) The training program instructor shall ensure that the student meets the competencies determined under the Program and those listed under subsection (e). The instructor shall document the successful completion or failure of the competencies and any remediation that may allow for the successful completion of the competencies.

(3) All on-the-job training shall be under the direct observation of either an advanced practice registered nurse or a registered nurse who holds a bachelor's degree in nursing, has a minimum of 3 years of continuous experience in geriatric care, or is certified as a nursing assistant instructor.

(4) All on-the-job training shall be conducted at a facility that is licensed by the State of Illinois and that is the facility where the certified nursing assistant intern will be working.

(e) A certified nursing assistant intern shall receive classroom and on-the-job training on how to provide the patient or resident care services and procedures, as determined under the Program, that are required of a certified nursing assistant's performance skills, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Successful completion and maintenance of active certification in both first aid and the American Red Cross' courses on cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

(2) Infection control and in-service training required at the facility.

(3) Washing a resident's hands.

(4) Performing oral hygiene on a resident.

(5) Shaving a resident with an electric razor.

(6) Giving a resident a partial bath.

(7) Making a bed that is occupied.

(8) Dressing a resident.

(9) Transferring a resident to a wheelchair using a gait belt or transfer belt.

(10) Ambulating a resident with a gait belt or transfer belt.

(11) Feeding a resident.

(12) Calculating a resident's intake and output.

(13) Placing a resident in a side-lying position.

(14) The Heimlich maneuver.

(f) A certified nursing assistant intern may not perform any of the following on a resident:

(1) Shaving with a nonelectric razor.

(2) Nail care.

(3) Perineal care.

(4) Transfer using a mechanical lift.

(5) Passive range of motion.

(g) A certified nursing assistant intern may only provide the patient or resident care services and perform the procedures that he or she is deemed qualified to perform that are listed under subsection (e). A certified nursing assistant intern may not provide the procedures excluded under subsection (f).

(h) The Program is subject to the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and the Health Care Worker Background Check Code under 77 Ill. Adm. Code 955. Program participants and personnel shall be included on the Health Care Worker Registry.

(i) A Program participant who has completed the training required under paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Section 3-206 of the Nursing Home Care Act, has completed the Program from April 21, 2020 through September 18, 2020, and has shown competency in all of the performance skills listed under subsection (e) may be considered a certified nursing assistant intern once the observing advanced practice registered nurse or registered nurse educator has confirmed the Program participant's competency in all of those performance skills.

(j) The requirement under subsection (b) of Section 395.400 of Title 77 of the Illinois Administrative Code that a student must pass a BNATP written competency examination within 12 months after the completion of the BNATP does not apply to a certified nursing assistant intern under this Section. However, upon a Program participant's enrollment in a certified nursing assistant course, the requirement under subsection (b) of Section 395.400 of Title 77 of the Illinois Administrative Code that a student pass a BNATP written competency examination within 12 months after completion of the BNATP program applies.

(k) A certified nursing assistant intern shall enroll in a certified nursing assistant program within 6 months after completing his or her certified nursing assistant intern training under the Program. The individual may continue to work as a certified nursing assistant intern during his or her certified nursing assistant training. If the scope of work for a nurse assistant in training pursuant to 77 Ill. Adm. Code 300.660 is broader in scope than the work permitted to be performed by a certified nursing assistant intern, then the certified nursing assistant intern enrolled in certified nursing assistant training may perform the work allowed under 77 Ill. Adm. Code 300.660 with written documentation that the certified nursing assistant intern has successfully passed the competencies necessary to perform such skills. The facility shall maintain documentation as to the additional jobs and duties the certified nursing assistant intern is authorized to perform, which shall be made available to the Department upon request. The individual shall receive one hour of credit for every hour employed as a certified nursing assistant intern or as a temporary nurse assistant, not to exceed 30 hours of credit, subject to the approval of an accredited certified nursing assistant training program.

(l) A facility that seeks to train and employ a certified nursing assistant intern at the facility must:

(1) not have received or applied for a registered nurse waiver under Section 3-303.1 of the Nursing Home Care Act, if applicable;

(2) not have been cited for a violation, except a citation for noncompliance with COVID-19 reporting requirements, that has caused severe harm to or the death of a resident within the 2 years prior to employing a certified nursing assistant; for purposes of this paragraph, the revocation of the facility's ability to hire and train a certified nursing assistant intern shall only occur if the underlying federal citation for the revocation remains substantiated following an informal dispute resolution or independent informal dispute resolution;

(3) not have been cited for a violation that resulted in a pattern of certified nursing assistants being removed from the Health Care Worker Registry as a result of resident abuse, neglect, or exploitation within the 2 years prior to employing a certified nursing assistant intern;

(4) if the facility is a skilled nursing facility, meet a minimum staffing ratio of 3.8 hours of nursing and personal care time, as those terms are used in subsection (e) of Section 3-202.05 of the Nursing Home Care Act, each day for a resident needing skilled care and 2.5 hours of nursing and personal care time each day for a resident needing intermediate care;

(5) not have lost the ability to offer a Nursing Assistant Training and Competency Evaluation Program as a result of an enforcement action;

(6) establish a certified nursing assistant intern mentoring program within the facility for the purposes of increasing education and retention, which must include an experienced certified nurse assistant who has at least 3 years of active employment and is employed by the facility;

(7) not have a monitor or temporary management placed upon the facility by the Department;

(8) not have provided the Department with a notice of imminent closure; and

(9) not have had a termination action initiated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or the Department for failing to comply with minimum regulatory or licensure requirements.

(m) A facility that does not meet the requirements of subsection (l) shall cease its new employment training, education, or onboarding of any employee under the Program. The facility may resume its new employment training, education, or onboarding of an employee under the Program once the Department determines that the facility is in compliance with subsection (l).

(n) To study the effectiveness of the Program, the Department shall collect data from participating facilities and publish a report on the extent to which the Program brought individuals into continuing employment as certified nursing assistants in long-term care. Data collected from facilities shall include, but shall not be limited to, the number of certified nursing assistants employed, the number of persons who began participation in the Program, the number of persons who successfully completed the Program, and the number of persons who continue employment in a long-term care service or facility. The report shall be published no later than 6 months after the Program end date determined under subsection (p). A facility participating in the Program shall, twice annually, submit data under this subsection in a manner and time determined by the Department. Failure to submit data under this subsection shall result in suspension of the facility's Program.

(o) The Department may adopt emergency rules in accordance with Section 5-45.30 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(p) The Program shall end upon the termination of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' public health emergency declaration for COVID-19 or 3 years after the date that the Program becomes operational, whichever occurs later.

(q) This Section is inoperative 18 months after the Program end date determined under subsection (p).

(Source: P.A. 102-1037, eff. 6-2-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)