This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 43.70. Here is the modified chapter for context.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall establish a stipend program to defray the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by licensed nurses completing the training necessary to become certified adult/adolescent or pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners.
Out-of-pocket expenses eligible for defrayment under this section include:
Fees, tuition, or other charges imposed by the entity providing the training;
Reasonable transportation expenses, including air travel, rental car costs, or mileage on a personal vehicle at the standard state reimbursement rate;
Reasonable lodging and meal costs;
Wages lost as a result of the time spent completing the training, including the time spent traveling to and from the training site; and
Any other expenses deemed appropriate by the department.
A nurse participating in the stipend program established in this section shall document his or her out-of-pocket expenses in a manner specified by the department.
The total amount of the stipend for any individual nurse may not exceed $2,500.
If the amount appropriated for purposes of the stipend program is insufficient to provide stipends to all nurses who apply to the program, the department shall give priority to nurses who work in rural or underserved areas of the state.
The department shall establish the stipend program no later than January 1, 2023.
The department may adopt any rules necessary to implement this section.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 43.70. Here is the modified chapter for context.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall establish a hospital grant program to increase access to certified adult/adolescent and pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners by hospitals that do not have regular or sufficient access to sexual assault nurse examiners to perform forensic examinations of victims of sexual assaults.
A hospital applying for a grant under this section must document in a manner specified by the department:
The hospital's need for increased access to certified sexual assault nurse examiners;
The manner in which the hospital will spend any grant funding it receives under this section;
The outcome measures the hospital will use to determine whether the grant funding is addressing the hospital's needs; and
Any other information required by the department.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall provide grant funding to any hospital that demonstrates to the department's satisfaction that grant funding will be used effectively to address the hospital's unmet needs for certified sexual assault nurse examiners. If the amount appropriated for purposes of the grant program is insufficient to provide grants to all eligible hospitals that apply to the program, the department shall give priority to hospitals in rural or underserved areas of the state.
A hospital receiving grant funds under this section may use the funds only in a manner consistent with its grant application. The hospital shall submit progress reports to the department at regular intervals specified by the department on how the funds were spent and the hospital's progress toward meeting the outcome measures in its grant application.
The department shall establish the grant program no later than January 1, 2023.
The department may adopt any rules necessary to implement this section.
If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2022, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.