Text of CT HB 6672 (2023)

LCO No. 4018 1 of 5 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6672 January Session, 2023 LCO No. 4018 *04018_______PH_* Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by: (PH) AN ACT CONCERNING ENDOMETRIOSIS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 20-94d of the general statutes is 1 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2 1, 2023): 3 (b) Except as provided in this section, for registration periods 4 beginning on and after October 1, 2014, a licensee applying for license 5 renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing 6 education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such 7 continuing education: [shall: (1) Be] (1) Shall be in an area of the 8 advanced practice registered nurse's practice; (2) shall reflect the 9 professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health care needs 10 of the public; (3) shall include at least five contact hours of training or 11 education in pharmacotherapeutics; (4) shall include at least one contact 12 hour of training or education in each of the following topics: (A) 13 Infectious diseases, including, but not limited to, acquired immune 14 deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk 15 management, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural 16 Raised Bill No. 6672 LCO No. 4018 2 of 5 competency, and (F) substance abuse, including, but not limited to, 17 prescribing controlled substances and pain management; (5) [on and 18 after January 1, 2016,] shall include not less than two contact hours of 19 training or education during the first renewal period in which 20 continuing education is required and not less than once every six years 21 thereafter on the topic of mental health conditions common to veterans 22 and family members of veterans, including (A) determining whether a 23 patient is a veteran or family member of a veteran, (B) screening for 24 conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, 25 depression and grief, and (C) suicide prevention training; [and (6) on 26 and after January 1, 2020,] (6) may include not less than two contact 27 hours of training or education during the first renewal period in which 28 continuing education is required and not less than once every six years 29 thereafter in diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health 30 conditions, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, 31 delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression; and 32 (7) on and after October 1, 2023, for licensees working as a school nurse 33 or as a nurse for a school-based health center, shall include at least one 34 contact hour of training or education during the first renewal period in 35 which continuing education is required and not less than once every six 36 years thereafter in diagnosing and treating endometriosis, including a 37 review of (A) an educational toolkit regarding endometriosis developed 38 by an organization recognized by the Department of Public Health, and 39 (B) information on how systemic racism, explicit and implicit bias, racial 40 disparities and experiences of transgender and gender diverse youth 41 affect the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. For purposes of this 42 section, qualifying continuing education activities include, but are not 43 limited to, courses, including on-line courses, offered or approved by 44 the American Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, 45 Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a 46 specialty nursing society or an equivalent organization in another 47 jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other 48 health care institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited 49 academic institution or a state or local health department. The 50 commissioner may grant a waiver of not more than ten contact hours of 51 Raised Bill No. 6672 LCO No. 4018 3 of 5 continuing education for an advanced practice registered nurse who: 52 [(A)] (i) Engages in activities related to the advanced practice registered 53 nurse's service as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners 54 for Nursing, established pursuant to section 20-88; or [(B)] (ii) assists the 55 department with its duties to boards and commissions as described in 56 section 19a-14. 57 Sec. 2. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 20-94e of the general statutes 58 are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 59 October 1, 2023): 60 (a) As used in this section: 61 (1) "Contact hour" means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing 62 education and activities; and 63 (2) "Registration period" means the one-year period for which a 64 license has been renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 and is 65 current and valid. 66 (b) For registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, a 67 registered nurse licensed pursuant to this chapter who is actively 68 practicing in this state, and a licensed practical nurse licensed pursuant 69 to this chapter who is actively practicing in this state, applying for 70 license renewal shall, during the first renewal period and not less than 71 once every six years thereafter, (1) earn not less than two contact hours 72 of training or education on [(1)] (A) screening for conditions such as 73 post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and 74 [(2)] (B) suicide prevention training, and (2) for such registered nurses 75 and licensed practical nurses working as a school nurse or nurse in a 76 school-based health center, earn not less than one contact hour of 77 training or education in diagnosing and treating endometriosis, 78 including a review of (A) an educational toolkit regarding 79 endometriosis developed by an organization recognized by the 80 Department of Public Health, and (B) information on how systemic 81 racism, explicit and implicit bias, racial disparities and experiences of 82 transgender and gender diverse youth affect the diagnosis and 83 Raised Bill No. 6672 LCO No. 4018 4 of 5 treatment of endometriosis. For purposes of this section, qualifying 84 continuing education activities include, but are not limited to, in-person 85 and online courses offered or approved by the American Nurses 86 Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut Nurses 87 Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a specialty nursing 88 society or an equivalent organization in another jurisdiction, an 89 educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other health care 90 institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited academic 91 institution or a state or local health department. 92 Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Not later than January 1, 93 2024, the Department of Public Health shall establish an endometriosis 94 data and biorepository program to (1) foster research and clinical 95 collaborations to assist in understanding the pathology, drivers and 96 impact of endometriosis; (2) allow for the curation of information 97 regarding endometriosis from a diverse cross-section of communities to 98 ensure representation of all ethnic groups in such communities; (3) 99 support the identification of biomarkers of endometriosis to allow for 100 earlier diagnosis of the disease; (4) encourage the advancement of new 101 therapeutic strategies in the treatment of endometriosis, including 102 earlier access for Connecticut residents to the latest therapeutic options 103 as such options are developed; (5) support better care management of 104 endometriosis; and (6) serve as a centralized resource to disseminate 105 information, educate the public and raise awareness regarding 106 endometriosis to promote early diagnosis and treatment of adolescents 107 and adults. 108 (b) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 109 Commissioner of Public Health shall report, in accordance with the 110 provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 111 committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 112 relating to public health regarding the implementation of the 113 endometriosis data and biorepository program established pursuant to 114 subsection (a) of this section. 115 Raised Bill No. 6672 LCO No. 4018 5 of 5 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 October 1, 2023 20-94d(b) Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 20-94e(a) and (b) Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 New section Statement of Purpose: To require school nurses to receive training regarding endometriosis and establish an endometriosis data and biorepository program. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]

Substitute House Bill No. 6672 Public Act No. 23-67 AN ACT CONCERNING ENDOMETRIOSIS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) As used in this section: (1) "Biorepository" means a facility that, for laboratory research, collects, catalogs and stores samples of biological material from humans, including, but not limited to, urine, blood, tissue, cells, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid) and protein, that is coded without individual identifiers and linked with phenotypic data; and (2) "Phenotypic data" means clinical information about a person, coded without individual identifiers, that includes disease history, symptoms and demographic data including, but not limited to, age, sex, race and ethnicity. (b) Not later than January 1, 2024, The University of Connecticut Health Center, in collaboration with an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution in the state engaged in endometriosis research with said health center, shall establish an endometriosis data and biorepository program in the state to enable and promote research regarding (1) early detection of endometriosis in adolescents and adults, Substitute House Bill No. 6672 Public Act No. 23-67 2 of 3 and (2) the development of therapeutic strategies to improve clinical management of endometriosis. (c) The endometriosis data and biorepository program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall: (1) (A) Design a comprehensive longitudinal sample and clinical data collection protocol to characterize endometriosis and cellular functions of individuals with endometriosis, and (B) collect from patients with endometriosis and control patients without endometriosis and code (i) endometrial tissue specimens, (ii) fluids, including, but not limited to, blood and urine, and (iii) clinical and demographic data and questionnaires regarding symptoms of endometriosis and quality of life; (2) (A) Develop standard operating procedures concerning samples of biological material, including, but not limited to, transportation, coding, processing, long-term retention and storage of such samples, and (B) establish data transmission and onboarding operations necessary for institutions in the state to participate in banking with and accessing data from the data and biorepository program; (3) Curate biological samples of endometriosis from a diverse cross- section of communities in the state to ensure representation of all groups affected by endometriosis, including such under-represented populations as African American and black persons, Latino, Latina and Latinx persons, Puerto Rican persons, other persons of color, transgender and gender diverse persons, and persons with disabilities; (4) Raise awareness regarding endometriosis in such under- represented populations and promote research of better diagnostic and therapeutic options, including through communications with health care providers and persons impacted by endometriosis concerning information about the latest therapeutic options for persons diagnosed with endometriosis; Substitute House Bill No. 6672 Public Act No. 23-67 3 of 3 (5) Create opportunities for collaborative research among institutions in the state focused on the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, progression, prognosis and prevention of endometriosis and the discovery of noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers, novel targeted therapeutics and improved medical and surgical interventions; (6) Serve as a centralized resource for endometriosis information and a conduit to promote education and raise public awareness regarding endometriosis; (7) Facilitate collaboration among researchers and health care providers, educators, students, patients and other individuals impacted by endometriosis through conferences and continuing medical education programs regarding best practices for the diagnosis, care and treatment of endometriosis; (8) Collect information on the impact of endometriosis on residents of the state, including, but not limited to, its impact on health and comorbidity, health care costs and overall quality of life; and (9) Apply for and accept grants, gifts and bequests of funds for the purpose of performing its functions pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (8), inclusive, of this subsection. (d) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, The University of Connecticut Health Center shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health, regarding the implementation of the endometriosis data and biorepository program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.