GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	2 

SENATE BILL 320
Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 4/14/97

Short Title:  Nurses' Training.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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March 6, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ALLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAMS TO TRAIN LICENSED NURSES TO CONDUCT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS OF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL OFFENSES, TO CONDUCT MEDICAL PROCEDURES TO COLLECT EVIDENCE FROM THE VICTIMS, AND TO ALLOW DIRECT PAYMENT TO NURSES WHO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 90-171.38 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90-171.38.  Standards for nursing programs.
(a)	A nursing program may be operated under the authority of a general hospital, or an approved post-secondary educational institution.  The Board shall establish, revise, or repeal standards for nursing programs.  These standards shall specify program requirements, curricula, faculty, students, facilities, resources, administration, and describe the approval process.  Any institution desiring to establish a nursing program shall apply to the Board and submit satisfactory evidence that it will meet the standards prescribed by the Board.  Those standards shall be designed to ensure that graduates of those programs have the education necessary to safely and competently practice nursing.  The Board shall encourage the continued operation of all present programs that meet the standards approved by the Board.
(b)	Any individual, organization, association, corporation, or institution may establish a program for the purpose of training or educating any nurse licensed under G.S. 90-171.30, 90-171.32, or 90-171.33 in the skills, procedures, and techniques necessary to conduct medical examinations of, and the medical procedures to collect evidence from, the victims of first-degree rape as defined in G.S. 14-27.2, second-degree rape as defined in G.S. 14-27.3, statutory rape as defined in G.S. 14-27.7A, first-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.4, second-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.5 or attempted first-degree or second-degree rape or attempted first-degree or second-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.6.  The Board shall establish, revise, or repeal standards for any such program.  Any individual, organization, association, corporation, or institution which desires to establish a program under this subsection shall apply to the Board and submit satisfactory evidence that it will meet the standards prescribed by the Board."
Section 2.  G.S. 90-171.44 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90-171.44.  Prohibited acts.
It shall be a violation of this Article, and subject to action under G.S. 90-171.37, for any person to:
(1) 	Sell, fraudulently obtain, or fraudulently furnish any nursing diploma or aid or abet therein.
(2) 	Practice nursing under cover of any fraudulently obtained license.
(3) 	Practice nursing without a license. This subdivision shall not be construed to prohibit any licensed nurse who has successfully completed a program established under G.S. 90-171.38(b) from conducting medical examinations of, or procedures to collect evidence from, the victims of offenses described in that subsection.
(4) 	Conduct a nursing program or a refresher course for activation of a license, that is not approved by the Board.
(5) 	Employ unlicensed persons to practice nursing."
Section 3.  G.S. 58-50-25 reads as rewritten:
"§ 58-50-25.  Nurses' services.
(a)	No agency, institution or physician providing a service for which payment or reimbursement is required to be made under a policy governed by Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter shall be denied such payment or reimbursement on account of the fact that such services were rendered through a registered nurse acting under authority of rules and regulations adopted by the North Carolina Medical Board and the Board of Nursing pursuant to G.S. 90-6 and 90-171.23.
(b)	Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize contracting with or making payments directly to any nurse not otherwise permitted.  A licensed nurse who has successfully completed a program established under G.S. 90-171.38(b) may receive direct payment for conducting medical examinations or medical procedures described in that subsection if the payment is in lieu of any payment which would have otherwise been permitted."
Section 4.  G.S. 143B-480.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-480.2. Victim assistance.
(a)	Only victims who have reported the following crimes are eligible for assistance under this Program: first-degree rape as defined in G.S. 14-27.2, second-degree rape as defined in G.S. 14-27.3, first-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.4, second-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.5, or attempted first-degree or second-degree rape or attempted first-degree or second-degree sexual offense as defined in G.S. 14-27.6. Assistance is limited to immediate and short-term medical expenses, ambulance services, and mental health services provided by a professional licensed or certified by the State to provide such services, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) incurred by the victim for the medical examination, medical procedures to collect evidence, or counseling treatment which follow the attack, or ambulance services from the place of the attack to a place where medical treatment is provided.
(b)	With the exception of assistance authorized under subsection (e) of this section, assistance for expenses authorized under this section is to be  paid directly to any hospital, ambulance service, attending physicians, or mental health professionals providing counseling, upon the filing of proper forms.
(c)	Assistance shall not be awarded unless the rape, attempted rape, sexual offense, or attempted sexual offense was reported to a law-enforcement officer within 72 hours after its occurrence or the Secretary finds there was good cause for the failure to report within that time.
(d)	Upon an adverse determination by the Secretary on a claim for medical expenses, a victim is entitled to judicial review of that decision. The person seeking review shall file a petition in the Superior Court of Wake County.
(e)	In lieu of any payment which may otherwise have been made under subsection (b), assistance for expenses authorized under this section may be paid directly to any licensed nurse who has successfully completed a program approved under G.S. 90-171.38(b).  The Secretary shall adopt rules to facilitate the payments authorized under this subsection and to encourage, whenever practical, the use of nurses trained under G.S. 90-171.38(b) to conduct medical examinations and procedures."
Section 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.