New Requirement for Reporting to HCPR

The General Assembly has enacted changes to the Health Care Personnel Registry law (G.S. 131E-256 of Article 15 (PDF, 19 KB)) that will take effect on January 1, 2008. The changes can be found in Senate bill 56, Section 2, (PDF, 35 KB) beginning on page 2. These changes, which modify the definitions of "health care personnel" and "health care facilities", will require you, as a licensed provider or a provider that has been added under the new definition of health care facilities, to report allegations against other employees as are currently required for unlicensed direct care employees. The requirements and process for reporting allegations, investigating these allegations and accessing the Health Care Personnel Registry prior to hiring have not changed. Health care personnel and health care facilities are now defined as;

Health Care Personnel

"any unlicensed staff of a health care facility that has direct access to residents, clients, or their property. Direct access includes any health care facility unlicensed staff that during the course of employment has the opportunity for direct contact with an individual or an individual's property, when that individual is a resident or person to whom services are provided."

Health Care Facilities

  1. Adult care homes as defined in G.S. 131D 2. (PDF, 50 KB)
  2. Hospitals as defined in G.S. 131E 76. (PDF, 14 KB)
  3. Home care agencies as defined in G.S. 131E 136. (PDF, 13 KB)
  4. Nursing pools as defined by G.S. 131E 154.2. (PDF, 11 KB)
  5. Hospices as defined by G.S. 131E 201. (PDF, 13 KB)
  6. Nursing facilities as defined by G.S. 131E 255. (PDF, 11 KB)
  7. State operated facilities as defined in G.S. 122C 3(14)f. (PDF, 32 KB)
  8. Residential facilities as defined in G.S. 122C 3(14)e. (PDF, 32 KB)
  9. 24 hour facilities as defined in G.S. 122C 3(14)g. (PDF, 32 KB)
  10. Licensable facilities as defined in G.S. 122C 3(14)b. (PDF, 32 KB)
  11. Multiunit assisted housing with services as defined in G.S. 131D 2. (PDF, 50 KB)
  12. Community based providers of services for the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, and substance abusers that are not required to be licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes. (PDF, 48 KB)
  13. Agencies providing in home aide services funded through the Home and Community Care Block Grant Program in accordance with G.S. 143B 181.1(a)11. (PDF, 15 KB)

For health care facilities that are currently covered by the law, allegations against these additional employee types should only be reported to the Health Care Personnel Registry Section on or after January, 1, 2008, and only for allegations that happen on or after January, 1, 2008. You should continue to report allegations against unlicensed direct care staff, as this requirement has not changed.

For those providers who will be added to the law on January 1, 2008, you should begin reporting allegations for all employees covered by the definition that are received on or after January 1, 2008.

Please take some time to review the new definitions and identify those employee categories that will be subject to this reporting requirement. We will be making changes to our Health Care Personnel Registry Section Handbook and reporting forms. They will be available on our web site www.ncnar.org later this fall. Please check the web site after December 1, 2007 for these updates.