Medication aides; provide for certification of by State Department of Health.

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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Creekmore IV

HOUSE BILL NO. 834

AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE MEDICATION AIDE ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR 1
THE CERTIFICATION OF MEDICATION AIDES BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF 2
HEALTH; TO PROVIDE THAT A MEDICATION AIDE MAY PARTICIPATE IN 3
MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION WHEN CERTIFIED THROUGH A MEDICATION AIDE 4
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ACT AND GENERALLY 5
MANAGED BY A LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL AT A NURSING 6
FACILITY; TO SPECIFY THE MINIMUM COMPETENCIES FOR A MEDICATION 7
AIDE; TO SPECIFY THE COMPONENTS OF A MEDICATION AIDE CERTIFICATION 8
PROGRAM, WHICH MAY BE OFFERED BY TECHNICAL OR COMMUNITY COLLEGES 9
OR BY A LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYED AT A NURSING 10
FACILITY; TO REQUIRE APPLICANTS TO COMPLETE MEDICATION AIDE 11
CERTIFICATION TRAINING AND PASS AN EXAMINATION IN ORDER TO BE 12
CERTIFIED; TO REQUIRE EACH FACILITY OPERATOR USING CERTIFIED 13
MEDICATION AIDES TO HAVE A WRITTEN POLICY GOVERNING THE PROVISION 14
OF MEDICATIONS BY CERTIFIED MEDICATION AIDES; TO REQUIRE NURSING 15
FACILITIES TO DISCLOSE TO THEIR RESIDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES THAT 16
THE FACILITY EMPLOYS AND USES MEDICATION AIDES; TO PRESCRIBE THE 17
CURRICULUM STANDARDS FOR THE MEDICATION AIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM 18
AND THE REQUIRED INFORMATION IN THE PROGRAM INSTRUCTION; TO 19
PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL HAVE A MEDICATION AIDE REGISTRY 20
FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS A MEDICATION AIDE; TO 21
PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT MAY DENY REGISTRATION OR REFUSE 22
RENEWAL OF OR REMOVE A REGISTRATION FROM THE MEDICATION AIDE 23
REGISTRY FOR FAILURE TO MEET THE STANDARDS AND COMPETENCIES OR FOR 24
VIOLATION OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 25
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 26
SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited 27
as the Medication Aide Act. 28
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(2) The purpose of this act is to ensure the health, safety 29
and welfare of the public by providing for the accurate, 30
cost-effective, efficient, and safe utilization of medication 31
aides to assist in the administration of medications in nursing 32
facilities in the State of Mississippi. 33
(3) As used in this section, the following words shall have 34
the meanings as defined in this subsection unless the context 35
clearly requires otherwise: 36
(a) "Licensed health care professional" means an 37
individual for whom administration of medication is included in 38
the scope of practice. 39
(b) "Department" means the State Department of Health. 40
(c) "PRN" means an administration scheme in which a 41
medication is not routine, is taken as needed, and requires 42
assessment for need and effectiveness. 43
(4) A medication aide may participate in medication 44
administration when certified through a medication aide 45
certification program in accordance with this section and 46
generally managed by a licensed health care professional at the 47
nursing facility. In each case, the individual responsible for 48
providing such management and monitoring shall be identified in 49
writing in the administration records. 50
(5) A medication aide may provide routine or PRN medications 51
by the following routes: 52
(a) Oral; 53
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(b) Inhalation; 54
(c) Topical; 55
(d) Instillation into the eyes, ears and nasal sprays; 56
and 57
(e) Injections of insulin and injections of prescribed 58
anaphylactic treatments. 59
Routine medications by allowed routes shall not include other 60
injectable medications, vaginal medications and/or rectal 61
medications. 62
(6) A facility using a medication aide shall keep and 63
maintain accurate medication administration records. The 64
medication administration records shall be available to the 65
department for inspection and copying for a period not to exceed 66
six (6) months. The medication administration records shall 67
include information and data that the department requires by rules 68
adopted for the administration of this section, which shall be 69
adopted within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this 70
section. 71
(7) (a) The minimum competencies for a medication aide are: 72
(i) Maintaining confidentiality; 73
(ii) Complying with a recipient's right to refuse 74
to take medication; 75
(iii) Maintaining hygiene and current accepted 76
standards for infection control; 77
(iv) Documenting accurately and completely; 78
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(v) Providing medications appropriately by 79
prescribed orders; 80
(vi) Having the ability to understand and follow 81
instructions; 82
(vii) Practicing safety in application of 83
medication procedures; and 84
(viii) Complying with limitations and conditions 85
under which a medication aide may provide medications. 86
(b) The minimum standards for competencies listed in 87
paragraph (a) of this subsection, methods for competency 88
assessment of medication aides and successful completion of 89
medication aide certification training shall be as set forth in 90
this section. This training and competency can be achieved by the 91
successful completion of a medication aide certification program. 92
(c) A medication aide certification program shall be a 93
minimum of a fifteen (15) hour training program on the 94
competencies listed in paragraph (a) of this subsection and the 95
standards adopted by the department and may be offered in one of 96
two (2) ways: 97
(i) By technical or community colleges; or 98
(ii) By a licensed health care professional 99
employed at a nursing facility or through a contractual 100
arrangement with a licensed health care professional to administer 101
the program within the nursing facility. 102
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(d) Regardless of the forum, all medication aide 103
certification programs shall meet the program standards and 104
curriculum standards enumerated in this section. Competency 105
assessment shall include passing an examination, which shall be 106
administered after completion of the program by the college or by 107
the licensed health care professional as set forth in paragraph 108
(c) of this subsection. Upon obtaining a passing grade, the 109
attending approved instructor shall certify the passing grade and 110
completion of the program and submit the necessary information to 111
the department. Upon confirmation of the completion of the 112
program and receipt of the application as required in subsection 113
(12) of this section, the department shall award a certificate 114
within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of the application. 115
(8) The length of the medication aide certification program, 116
including practicum experience and supervised medication passes, 117
shall not be less than fifteen (15) hours. Approved instructors 118
for medication aide certification programs may include: 119
(a) Registered nurses (RNs); 120
(b) Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who have at least 121
two (2) years of nursing experience; 122
(c) Licensed pharmacists; or 123
(d) Licensed physicians. 124
(9) To maintain certification, each certified medication 125
aide shall be required to complete a biannual continuing education 126
program on the provision of medication. The continuing education 127
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program shall be no less than two (2) hours in duration. The 128
program may be administered by: 129
(a) An approved instructor as defined in subsection (8) 130
of this section; or 131
(b) Online continuing education used by RNs, physical 132
therapists and similar health care professionals. Such online 133
continuing education shall have the ability to file completion 134
certificates with the department. 135
(10) (a) Each facility operator using certified medication 136
aides shall have a written policy governing the provision of 137
medications by certified medication aides. The policy shall 138
specify (i) activities that will be performed by certified 139
medication aides; (ii) the process to review, monitor and oversee 140
the work of the certified medication aides; (iii) the frequency of 141
the activities to be performed; and (iv) by whom. 142
(b) Nursing facilities shall disclose to their 143
residents and their families that the facility employs and uses 144
medication aides, and maintain the following records: 145
(i) A roster of all certified medication aides 146
employed; and 147
(ii) Copies of certified medication aide 148
certificates with date of award, including evidence of renewals 149
and continuing education attendance. 150
(11) Curriculum standards for the medication aide 151
certification program shall integrate instruction that establishes 152
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a knowledge base with practicum experience that the student 153
receives at a simulated (or real) treatment setting along with the 154
supervised medication passes that occur. 155
(a) The program instruction shall include general 156
information relevant to the provision of medication. Topics shall 157
include relevant state and federal laws and regulations, 158
terminology, forms of medication, routes of administration, 159
abbreviations/symbols, documentation guidelines and medication 160
references. The program instruction shall focus on the role and 161
scope of practice of the medication aide, as well as what is not 162
within their scope of practice. 163
(b) Practicum experience. This portion of the 164
curriculum shall use physical facilities that reasonably simulate 165
a health care setting, or use an actual health care setting, and 166
the types of medication dispensing systems used by the nursing 167
facilities in which the applicant(s) will be employed. The 168
approved instructor shall design exercises for skill demonstration 169
that simulate the various aspects of safe and effective medication 170
provision and documentation thereof. 171
(c) Supervised medication passes. When the instruction 172
and practicum experiences have been successfully completed, each 173
student will be required to demonstrate their competency by 174
successfully completing three (3) medication passes supervised by 175
an approved instructor, including medication setup, delivery and 176
documentation. The student must complete the medication passes 177
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independently without verbal and nonverbal prompts or manual 178
assistance. An approved instructor may authorize an LPN who may 179
not satisfy the requirements of an approved instructor to oversee 180
1:1 supervised medication passes. The approval must be in writing 181
and verify that the LPN is capable of supervising the medication 182
pass. 183
(12) (a) To register as a medication aide, an individual 184
must (i) have successfully completed the certification 185
requirements in this section; (ii) be at least eighteen (18) years 186
of age; (iii) file an application with the department. 187
(b) Registration as a medication aide shall be renewed 188
every two (2) years based upon competency. The department may 189
prescribe by rule how a medication aide can show competency for 190
purposes of renewal, including, but not limited to, showing 191
evidence of completion of continuing educational requirements as 192
set forth in this section. 193
(c) A registered nurse or licensed practical nurse 194
whose license has been revoked, suspended or voluntarily 195
surrendered in lieu of discipline may not register as a medication 196
aide. 197
(d) An applicant or medication aide shall report to the 198
department, in writing, any conviction for a felony. A conviction 199
is not a disqualification for registration or renewal unless it 200
relates to the competencies identified in subsection (7) of this 201
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section or it reflects on the moral character of the applicant or 202
medication aide. 203
(e) An applicant or medication aide may report any 204
pardon or setting aside of a conviction to the department. If a 205
pardon or setting aside has been obtained, the conviction for 206
which it was obtained shall not be maintained on the Medication 207
Aide Registry. 208
(f) If a person registered as a medication aide on the 209
Medication Aide Registry becomes licensed as a registered nurse or 210
licensed practical nurse, his or her registration as a medication 211
aide becomes null and void as of the date of licensure. 212
(13) (a) The department shall list each medication aide 213
registration in the Medication Aide Registry. A listing in the 214
registry shall be valid for the term of the registration and upon 215
renewal unless such aide is refused renewal or is removed as 216
provided in subsection (12) of this section. 217
(b) The registry shall contain the following 218
information on each registrant: 219
(i) The individual's full name; 220
(ii) Information necessary to identify individuals 221
qualified to provide medications in nursing facilities; 222
(iii) Any conviction of a felony reported to the 223
department; and 224
(iv) Listing of evidence of continuing education 225
received from a nursing facility; and 226
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(v) Other information as the department may 227
require by rule. 228
(14) (a) The department may deny registration or refuse 229
renewal of or remove a registration from the Medication Aide 230
Registry for failure to meet the standards and competencies or for 231
violation of any provision of this section. 232
(b) If the department proposes to deny, refuse renewal 233
of, or remove a registration, it shall send the applicant or 234
registrant a notice setting forth the action to be taken and the 235
reasons for the determination. The denial, refusal to renew, or 236
removal shall become final thirty (30) days after mailing the 237
notice unless the applicant or registrant gives written notice to 238
the department of his or her desire for an informal conference or 239
for a formal hearing. 240
(c) The notice may be given by United States certified 241
mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the 242
applicant or registrant. 243
(15) If an informal conference is requested, the department 244
shall assign a representative of the department to hold an 245
informal conference with the applicant or registrant within 246
fifteen (15) working days after receipt of a request. Within 247
seven (7) working days after the conclusion of such conference, 248
the representative shall affirm, modify or dismiss the action. 249
The representative shall state in writing the specific reasons for 250
affirming, modifying or dismissing the action and shall 251
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ST: Medication aides; provide for certification
of by State Department of Health.
immediately transmit copies of the statement to the department and 252
to the applicant or the registrant. If the representative affirms 253
or modifies the action, it shall become final unless the applicant 254
or registrant, within ten (10) working days after receipt of the 255
written notice, requests in writing a formal hearing to contest 256
the action. 257
(16) Except as provided by subsection (15) of this section, 258
an applicant or registrant who desires to contest an action or to 259
further contest an affirmed or modified action shall give written 260
notice to the department. The executive director of the 261
department shall be the decision-maker in a contested case under 262
this section. The hearings on a petition for judicial review of 263
any final decision regarding an action for an alleged violation 264
shall be set for hearing at the earliest possible date. The times 265
for pleadings and hearings in such action shall be set by the 266
judge of the court with the object of securing a decision at the 267
earliest possible time. 268
(17) A person whose registration has been denied, refused 269
renewal, or removed from the Medication Aide Registry may reapply 270
for registration or for lifting of the disciplinary sanction at 271
any time after one (1) year has elapsed since the date such 272
registration was denied, refused renewal, or removed from the 273
registry, in accordance with the rules. 274
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 275
and after July 1, 2026. 276