S2750

An Act concerning the training of health care professionals and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The Department of Health shall provide ongoing training to health care professionals about communicable diseases and best practices and standards in the recognition, treatment, and prevention of these diseases.

b. At a minimum, the training provided by the department shall, include, but not be limited to, information on:

(1) what diseases are communicable;

(2) how a communicable disease is spread;

(3) how to determine whether a person is ill or has been infected with a communicable disease;

(4) what communicable diseases are required to be reported to the department pursuant to State law;

(5) what methods are required to be employed to quickly identify signs of a communicable disease that could develop into an outbreak; and

(6) the recognized measures for the promotion of health when dealing with, and the prevention and containment of, a communicable disease.

c. The department shall ensure the training required pursuant to subsection b. this section is provided to health care professionals twice per calendar year.

d. As used in this section, “communicable disease” means any infectious or contagious disease so declared or defined by law or which has been or may hereafter be declared a communicable disease by the Department of Health, including, but not limited to, a novel coronavirus such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

2. The Department of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedures Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Department of Health (DOH) to provide ongoing training to health care professionals about communicable diseases and best practices and standards in the recognition, treatment, and prevention of these diseases.

At a minimum, the training would include, but not be limited to, information on: what diseases are communicable; how a communicable disease is spread; how to determine whether a person is ill or has been infected with a communicable disease; what communicable diseases are required to be reported to the department pursuant to State law; what methods are required to be employed to quickly identify signs of a communicable disease that could develop into an outbreak; and the recognized measures for the promotion of health when dealing with, and the prevention and containment of, a communicable disease.

The DOH would ensure the training required pursuant to the bill is provided twice per calendar year.

As used in the bill, “communicable disease” means any infectious or contagious disease so declared or defined by law or which has been or may hereafter be declared a communicable disease” by the Department of Health, including, but not limited to, a novel coronavirus such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).