State Education Department Proposes Advanced Home Health Aide Regulations

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has issued its regulations regarding Advanced Home Health Aides (AHHAs). The regulations establish AHHA tasks, require direct supervision of AHHAs by registered professional nurses, and set up the training and competency requirements for the role. The New York State Board of Regents approved the regulations as an Emergency Rule last week. After 90 days, the regulations will proceed with a traditional promulgation process with time set aside for comment. Minor changes from the original draft include language authorizing RNs to supervise more than one AHHA at a time and a reduction in the number of didactic training hours required before supervised practical training is allowed from 10 to 3. Click here for NYSED’s regulations.

As members may know, the Department of Health (DOH) recently published its own draft regulations regarding AHHAs. The DOH version establishes the position within the Hospice, Enriched Assisted Living Residence (EALR), Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA), and Licensed Home Care Services Agency (LHCSA) settings. It also mirrors the NYSED nursing supervision requirement. You can find the proposed DOH regulations here.

The NYSED regulations specify the types of routine medications and advanced tasks an AHHA may undertake, provided a systematic approach to address drug diversion is in place. They include:

administration of certain routine medication;
a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of low molecular weight heparin or medication prescribed to treat diabetes; and
the use of a prefilled auto-injector of naloxone or epinephrine in an emergency.

Advanced tasks shall not include:

converting or calculating the dose of any medication or determining a client’s need for medications;
medication administration through enteral feeding tubes, including, but not limited to, gastrostomy or nasogastric tubes;
medication administration parenterally, except for certain routine medications and injections as expressly provided for in this paragraph;
tasks involving the use of intravenous or subcutaneous infusion devices on a client;
tasks involving the use of a mechanical ventilator on a client;
tasks involving sterile or aseptic technique, except for the administration of injections as expressly provided for in this paragraph;
tasks involving professional nursing judgment, observation, monitoring, or assessment of a client; and
tasks that are outside the scope of practice of a licensed practical nurse.

To qualify for certification as an AHHA, a person must be listed on the home care worker registry as a certified home health aide; have at least one year of providing home health or personal care, or a combination of both; and complete a training program and examination.

To view the NYSED regulations, click here. Please email Meg Everett with feedback on the draft regulations, as LeadingAge NY will be providing comment to both departments. The DOH comments are due in late July, and the NYSED deadline for comment will be set for the fall.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871