By Thompson                                           H.B. No. 2397
       74R7386 CAG-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the training of health care professionals in geriatric
    1-3  health care issues.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
    1-6  by adding Subchapter L to read as follows:
    1-7      SUBCHAPTER L.  REQUIRED TRAINING IN GERIATRIC HEALTH ISSUES
    1-8        Sec. 161.301.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter, "geriatric
    1-9  health service state agency" means a state agency that licenses,
   1-10  certifies, issues a permit to, or otherwise regulates:
   1-11              (1)  a person who provides health care service to a
   1-12  person 65 years of age or over; or
   1-13              (2)  an inpatient or outpatient health care facility,
   1-14  hospital, or residential care facility that provides health care
   1-15  service to a person 65 years of age or older.
   1-16        Sec. 161.302.  MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON GERIATRIC
   1-17  HEALTH CARE ISSUES TRAINING.  (a)  The Texas Board of Health and
   1-18  each geriatric health service state agency by rule shall adopt a
   1-19  joint memorandum of understanding that requires the state agency to
   1-20  annually provide or require, as a condition of continued licensure,
   1-21  certification, or permitting, training designed to educate the
   1-22  person regulated or a person employed by a regulated facility in
   1-23  geriatric health care issues related to the provision of health
   1-24  care services by the person or facility.
    2-1        (b)  The memorandum must prescribe:
    2-2              (1)  minimum standards for the training program; and
    2-3              (2)  a method for monitoring compliance with the
    2-4  requirement.
    2-5        (c)  Each agency shall review and modify the memorandum as
    2-6  necessary not later than the last month of each state fiscal year.
    2-7        (d)  The Texas Board of Health shall determine whether a
    2-8  state agency is a geriatric health service state agency for the
    2-9  purposes of this section and notify each agency designated as a
   2-10  geriatric health service state agency of the requirements of this
   2-11  section.
   2-12        SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-13        (b)  The Texas Board of Health and each state agency
   2-14  designated as a geriatric health service state agency shall enter
   2-15  into a memorandum of understanding under Subchapter L, Chapter 161,
   2-16  Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, on or before January
   2-17  1, 1996.
   2-18        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-19  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-20  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-21  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-22  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.