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Bill > A4334


NJ A4334

NJ A4334
Revises infection control regulation in long-term care facilities.


summary

Introduced
02/19/2026
In Committee
02/19/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

2026-2027 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill amends current law to revise infection control regulations in long-term care facilities. The bill's amendments to N.J.S.A.26:2H-12.87: 1) remove the requirement for a long-term care facility to assign to the facility's infection prevention and control committee a physician who has completed an infectious disease fellowship; 2) revise infection preventionist qualifications to include certification under the American Health Care Association Infection Preventionist Specialized Training program, or under the Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training course; 3) restrict the infection preventionist to membership in no more than five infection prevention and control committees; 4) require the infection preventionist to perform other duties within his or her scope of practice when infection preventionist duties are not required; 5) remove the requirement for the infection preventionist to be a managerial employee; 6) provide that in the case of a long-term care facility with a licensed bed capacity equal to more than 100 beds or that provides on-site hemodialysis services, an infection preventionist is to be employed on a part-time basis, or on a full-time basis if it is determined to be necessary based on the facility's risk assessment that is required pursuant to federal law; 7) require that in addition to the infection preventionist, the infection prevention and control committee is also to be responsible for: contributing to the development of policies, procedures, and a training curriculum for long-term care facility staff based on best practices and clinical expertise; monitoring the implementation of infection prevention and control policies and recommending disciplinary measures for staff who routinely violate those policies; assessing the facility's infection prevention and control program by conducting internal quality improvement audits; and ensuring that all employees are trained in infection prevention at such intervals as determined by the Department of Health; and 8) remove a provision that was dated to February 1, 2022.

AI Summary

This bill revises infection control regulations for long-term care facilities by removing the requirement for a physician with infectious disease fellowship training to be on the infection prevention and control committee, and instead allows for infection preventionists to be certified through specific programs like the American Health Care Association Infection Preventionist Specialized Training or the Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training course. It also limits an infection preventionist to serving on no more than five such committees, requires them to perform other duties within their scope when infection prevention tasks are not needed, and removes the stipulation that they must be a managerial employee. For larger facilities (over 100 beds) or those with on-site hemodialysis, an infection preventionist will be employed part-time, or full-time if a risk assessment deems it necessary. Furthermore, the infection prevention and control committee, in addition to the infection preventionist, will now be responsible for developing policies and training curricula, monitoring policy implementation and recommending disciplinary actions for violations, conducting internal audits to assess the program, and ensuring all employees receive infection prevention training at intervals set by the Department of Health. Finally, a provision that was set to expire on February 1, 2022, has been removed.

Committee Categories

Health and Social Services

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee (on 02/19/2026)

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