‘3. Provide nursing services. To provide , at the discretion of the director, nursing services in communities that lack these services or in which these services are inadequate according to established standards ; and . The Public Health Nursing Program shall provide to communities within the State nursing services, including, but not limited to:’
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble (page 1, lines 1 to 14 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in subsection 3 by striking out the first paragraph (page 1, lines 19 to 22 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in subsection 3 in paragraph H in the first line (page 2, line 4 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " to" and inserting the following: ' for'
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in subsection 3 by striking out all of paragraphs I and J (page 2, lines 6 to 11) and inserting the following:
‘ I. Support for activities of programs within the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, including, but not limited to, the Universal Childhood Immunization Program under section 1066 and environmental health and tuberculosis programs;
J. Support for activities of programs that serve refugee and immigrant health services programs; and
K. Support for the assessment of unmet health needs in the elderly population, especially in rural areas, and assisting elderly persons in finding and receiving medical or community-based services; and’
Amend the bill in Part A by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. A-2. 22 MRSA §§1964 and 1965 are enacted to read:
§ 1964. Required staffing
The Public Health Nursing Program must include sufficient staffing to perform the responsibilities listed in section 1963. Minimum staffing must include no fewer than 50 full-time or full-time equivalent licensed public health nurses directly providing the nursing services described in section 1963, subsection 3; 5 full-time or full-time equivalent direct supervisors; 4 consulting nurses in program development; and one program director as described in section 1962. At a minimum, the staff described in this section must be licensed nurses under Title 32, chapter 31.
§ 1965. Required office space; support for staff
The department shall provide office space and support services on a regional basis for the staff of the Public Health Nursing Program to the full extent of required staffing provided in section 1964 in order to derive the maximum benefit from the professional skills of public health nursing staff and to minimize unnecessary driving time.’
Amend the bill in Part B in section 1 in the last line (page 2, line 23 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "December 1, 2017" and inserting the following: 'March 1, 2018'
Amend the bill in Part B in section 2 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 26 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2017 and October 15, 2017" and inserting the following: 'October 15, 2017 and January 15, 2018'
Amend the bill in Part B by striking out all of section 3.
Amend the bill by striking out all of Part C and inserting the following:
PART C
‘Sec. C-1. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS)
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 0143
Initiative: Provides funding for one Public Health Nurse Consultant position, one Public Health Nurse Supervisor position, one Public Health Nurse I position and 6 Public Health Nurse II positions.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
9.000 | 9.000 |
|
Personal Services
|
$560,859 | $765,812 |
|
All Other
|
$54,001 | $72,002 |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $614,860 | $837,814 |
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency clause.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. It removes the emergency preamble and emergency clause. It adds to the description of services provided by public health nurses. It clarifies that the 50 full-time nurses must be providing nursing services directly to communities in Maine. It provides that the staff required by the bill must be licensed nurses. The amendment changes the staffing level and report dates. It removes the historical review of the Public Health Nursing Program. The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)