Bill > S717

Introduced Session

This bill requires certain health care professionals to undergo bias training. Under the bill, a homemaker-home health aide and any other health care professional certified or licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, who provides in-home health care services, is to be required to complete one credit of cultural competency and implicit bias training, within one year following the effective date of this bill and biennially thereafter. The cultural competency and implicit bias training curriculum is to be developed by the Department of Health, in consultation with relevant professional organizations, which is to include, but not be limited to: (1) identification and understanding of implicit biases and stereotypes related to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability; (2) communication techniques that account for potential impacts of implicit biases; (3) strategies for recognizing and mitigating unconscious biases in healthcare decision-making processes; (4) review of applicable federal and State laws regarding discrimination in health care services; (5) cultural awareness and cultural competence in healthcare; and (6) understanding health disparities and social determinants of health. It is the sponsor's belief that this bill will help to ensure that all patients receive quality healthcare that respects their individual cultural backgrounds and experiences and that this bill is a step towards ensuring equity in healthcare delivery within New Jersey.

Committee Categories

Renee Burgess (D)*, 

Withdrawn Because Approved P.L.2023, c.331. (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document