S.B.
147
127th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Sens. Faber, Schuring, Grendell
BILL SUMMARY
· Permits the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to establish a loan repayment program for recruitment of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
(R.C. 5120.55)
Current law authorizes the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to establish a physician recruitment program under which the Department, by means of a contract, may agree to repay all or part of the principal and interest of a government or other educational loan of a physician in exchange for the physician's agreement to provide services to inmates of correctional institutions administered by the Department. The Department has not yet established such a program.[1]
Based on the existing laws authorizing establishment of a physician recruitment program, the bill permits the Department to establish a loan repayment program for the recruitment of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
The bill provides that a nurse[2] is eligible for the recruitment program if the nurse attended either of the following:
· A nursing school in this country that during the time of attendance was accredited by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education or the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
· A foreign nursing school that during the time of attendance was acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO) and verified by a WHO member state as operating within that state's jurisdiction.
The Department must enter into a contract with each nurse it recruits under the recruitment program. Each contract must include the scope of services to be provided, the number of hours per week and the number of years of service to be provided, the expenses that were covered by a loan that may be repaid by the Department, and the amount the nurse must pay to the Department as damages should the nurse fail to complete the service obligation or comply with other terms of the contract. The lending institution of the nurse or the Ohio Board of Regents may be a party to the contract and the contract may include an assignment to the Department of the nurse's duty to repay the principal and interest of the loan.
If it elects to implement a nurse recruitment program, the Department must adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (R.C. Chapter 119.) to establish all of the following:
· Criteria for designating institutions for which nurses will be recruited.
· Criteria for selecting nurses for participation in the program.
· Criteria for determining the portion of a loan the Department will agree to repay.
· Criteria for determining reasonable amounts of the expenses covered by a loan to be repaid.
· Procedures for monitoring compliance by nurses with the terms of their contracts.
· Any other criteria or procedures necessary to implement the program.
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
04-19-07 |
S0147-I-127.doc/jc
[1] Telephone interview
with Scott Neely, Legislative Liaison, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction (May 7, 2007).
[2] The bill defines
"nurse" as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse. "Registered nurse" is defined as
an individual who holds a current, valid license issued by the Ohio Nursing
Board that authorizes the practice of nursing as a registered nurse and
includes a registered nurse who is a clinical nurse specialist, certified
nurse-midwife, or certified nurse practitioner. "Licensed practical nurse" is defined as an individual
who holds a current, valid license issued by the Ohio Nursing Board that
authorizes the practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse.