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A4334
ASSEMBLY, No. 4334
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Revises infection control regulations in long-term
care facilities.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning long-term care facilities and amending
P.L.2019, c.243.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.2019,
c.243 (C.26:2H-12.87) is amended to read as follows:�
���� 1.� a.� As used in this
section:
���� "Cohorting" means
the practice of grouping patients who are or are not colonized or infected with
the same organism to confine their care to one area and prevent contact with
other patients.
���� "Department" means
the Department of Health.
���� "Endemic level"
means the usual level of given disease in a geographic area.
���� "Isolating" means
the process of separating sick, contagious persons from those who are not sick.
���� "Long-term care
facility" means a nursing home, licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.).
���� "Outbreak" means any
unusual occurrence of disease or any disease above background or endemic
levels.
���� b.��� Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, as a condition of licensure, the department
shall require long-term care facilities to develop an outbreak response plan
within 180 days after the effective date of this act, which plan shall be customized
to the facility, based upon national standards and developed in consultation
with the facility's infection prevention and control committee.� At a minimum,
each facility's plan shall include, but shall not be limited to:
���� (1)�� a protocol for isolating
and cohorting infected and at-risk residents in the event of an outbreak of a
contagious disease until the cessation of the outbreak;
���� (2)�� clear policies for the
notification of residents, residents' families, visitors, and staff in the
event of an outbreak of a contagious disease at a facility;
���� (3)�� information on the
availability of laboratory testing, protocols for assessing whether facility
visitors are ill, protocols to require ill staff to not present at the facility
for work duties, and processes for implementing evidence-based outbreak response
measures;
���� (4)�� policies to conduct
routine monitoring of residents and staff to quickly identify signs of a
communicable disease that could develop into an outbreak;
���� (5)�� policies for reporting
outbreaks to public health officials in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations; and
���� (6)�� a documented strategy
for securing more staff in the event of an outbreak of infectious disease among
staff or another emergent or non-emergent situation affecting staffing levels
at the facility during an outbreak of an infectious disease.
���� c. (1) In addition to the
requirements set forth in subsection b. of this section, the department shall
require long-term care facilities to include in the facility's outbreak
response plan written policies to meet staffing, training, and facility demands
during an infectious disease outbreak to successfully implement the outbreak
response plan
[
,
including employing the following individuals:
���� (a)�� an individual who meets
the requirements of subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of subsection e. of this
section; and
���� (b)�� a physician who meets
the requirements of subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of subsection e. of this
section
]
.
���� (2)�� Each nursing home that
has not previously submitted an outbreak response plan to the department shall
submit an outbreak response plan to the department for verification as provided
in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
���� (3)�� The department shall
verify that the outbreak response plans submitted by nursing homes are in
compliance with the requirements of subsection b. of this section and with the
requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
���� (4)�� The department shall
have the authority to require any long-term care facility to revise its
outbreak response plan as needed to come into compliance with the requirements
of subsection b. of this section and the requirements of paragraph (1) of this
subsection.� The department may assess civil penalties or take other
administrative actions against a facility in the event the department
determines the facility is not in compliance with the requirements of this
section.
���� (5)�� Each long term-care
facility shall perform an annual training exercise to ensure its outbreak
response plan is practical, comprehensive, and ensures the safety and
well-being of residents and staff.� The annual training exercise shall include,
but shall not be limited to, coordinating with emergency medical services,
hospitals, and fire and police departments.� Each long-term care facility shall
record a summary of the effectiveness of the training exercise and any need for
future modifications to the training exercise.
���� d. (1) Each long-term care
facility shall review and, if necessary, update its outbreak response plan on
an annual basis.
���� (2)�� If a nursing home makes
any material changes to its outbreak response plan, the nursing home shall,
within 30 days after completing the material change, submit to the department
an updated outbreak response plan.� The department shall, upon receiving an updated
outbreak response plan, verify that the plan is compliant with the requirements
of subsections b. and c. of this section.
���� e.� (1)� The department shall
require each long-term care facility to establish an infection prevention and
control committee and assign to the facility's infection prevention and control
committee:
���� (a)��
[
a physician
who has completed an infectious disease fellowship, who shall be employed on a
full-time or part time basis or contracted with on a consultative basis; and
���� (b)
]
� an individual designated as the
infection preventionist who;
���� (i)��� has primary
professional training in medicine, nursing, medical technology, microbiology,
epidemiology, or a related field;
���� (ii)�� is qualified by
education, training, and at least five years of infection control experience,
or by certification in infection control by the Certification Board of
Infection Control and Epidemiology
, under the American Health Care
Association Infection Preventionist Specialized Training program which program
is approved by the federal government, or under the Nursing Home Infection
Preventionist Training course which course is approved by the federal
government
;
���� (iii)� is employed by
[
the facility
consistent with the requirements of subsection f. of this section
]
no more
than five infection prevention and control committees
;
[
and
]
���� (iv)� has completed
specialized training in infection prevention and control
; and
����
(v)� performs other duties
within his or her scope of practice when infection preventionist duties are not
required
.
���� (2)�� The infection prevention
and control committee shall meet on at least a quarterly basis. The
[
physician
assigned to the committee pursuant to this subsection shall attend at least
half of the meetings held by the infection prevention and control committee,
and the
]
infection preventionist assigned to the committee pursuant to this subsection
shall attend all of the meetings held by the infection prevention and control
committee.
���� f.� (1)� An infection
preventionist assigned to a long-term care facility's infection prevention and
control committee pursuant to subsection e. of this section
[
shall be a
managerial employee and
]
shall be employed:
���� (a)�� in the case of a
long-term care facility with a licensed bed capacity equal to 100 or fewer
beds, on at least a part time basis; and
���� (b)�� in the case of a
long-term care facility with a licensed bed capacity equal to more than 100
beds or that provides on-site hemodialysis services, on a
part-time basis,
or on a
full-time basis
if it is determined to be necessary based on the
facility�s risk assessment that is required pursuant to federal law
.
���� (2)�� The infection
preventionist shall report directly to the administrator of the long-term care
facility and shall provide the administrator quarterly reports detailing the
effectiveness of the long-term care facility's infection prevention policies.
���� (3)�� The infection
preventionist
and the infection prevention and control committee
shall
be responsible for:
���� (a)�� contributing to the
development of policies, procedures, and a training curriculum for long-term
care facility staff based on best practices and clinical expertise;
���� (b)�� monitoring the
implementation of infection prevention and control policies and recommending
disciplinary measures for staff who routinely violate those policies;
[
and
]
���� (c)�� assessing the facility's
infection prevention and control program by conducting internal quality
improvement audits
; and
����
(d) ensuring that all
employees are trained in infection prevention at such intervals as determined
by the Department of Health
.
����
[
(4)� A long-term facility that is
unable to hire an infection preventionist on a full-time or part-time basis may
contract with an infection preventionist on a consultative basis until February
1, 2022.� A long-term care facility shall provide notice to the Department of
Health, within 60 days after the effective date of P.L.2021, c.190
(C.26:2H-87.3 et al.), if the facility is unable to hire an infection
preventionist on a full-time or part-time basis and if the facility has
contracted with an infection preventionist on a consultative basis.� A
long-term care facility shall hire an infection preventionist on a full-time or
part-time basis after February 1, 2022, except that the Department of Health
may waive this requirement if a long-term care facility is unable to hire an
infection preventionist folllowing the facility's good faith efforts to hire an
infection preventionist.
]
���� g.��� Each long-term care
facility shall publish the facility's outbreak response plan on its Internet
website if the facility maintains an Internet website, distribute copies of the
plan to residents and their families upon admission to the facility, and provide
notice to residents and their families any time the facility makes material
changes to its plan.� Each long-term care facility shall make its outbreak
response plan available upon request if the facility does not maintain an
Internet website.
���� h.��� Each long-term care
facility shall annually perform preparedness drills to evaluate the
effectiveness of its outbreak response plan.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.190, s.1)
���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill amends current law
to revise infection control regulations in long-term care facilities.
���� The bill�s amendments to
N.J.S.A.26:2H-12.87:
���� 1) �remove the requirement for
a long-term care facility to assign to the facility's infection prevention and
control committee a physician who has completed an infectious disease
fellowship;
���� 2) �revise infection
preventionist qualifications to include certification under the American Health
Care Association Infection Preventionist Specialized Training program, or under
the Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training course;
���� 3) �restrict the infection
preventionist to membership in no more than five infection prevention and
control committees;
���� 4) �require the infection
preventionist to perform other duties within his or her scope of practice when
infection preventionist duties are not required;
���� 5) �remove the requirement for
the infection preventionist to be a managerial employee;
���� 6) �provide that in the case
of a long-term care facility with a licensed bed capacity equal to more than
100 beds or that provides on-site hemodialysis services, an infection
preventionist is to be employed on a part-time basis, or on a full-time basis
if it is determined to be necessary based on the facility�s risk assessment
that is required pursuant to federal law;
���� 7) �require that in addition
to the infection preventionist, the infection prevention and control committee
is also to be responsible for:�� contributing to the development of policies,
procedures, and a training curriculum for long-term care facility staff based
on best practices and clinical expertise; monitoring the implementation of
infection prevention and control policies and recommending disciplinary
measures for staff who routinely violate those policies; assessing the
facility's infection prevention and control program by conducting internal
quality improvement audits; and ensuring that all employees are trained in
infection prevention at such intervals as determined by the Department of
Health; and
���� 8) �remove a provision that
was dated to February 1, 2022.