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May 10, 2021

Protecting your nursing home as a clinical site

Jean Chavez

With the rapid growth of the healthcare needs for aging baby boomers comes the shortage of nurses. Nursing schools are struggling to keep up with demand – including employing the proper faculty to educate students. These educational institutions are now looking for various ways to form strategic partnerships with clinical sites including nursing homes.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2012-2022 released in December 2013, Registered Nursing (RN) is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2022. The RN workforce is expected to grow from 2.71 million in 2012 to 3.24 million in 2022, an increase of 526,800 or 19%. The Bureau also projects the need for 525,000 replacement nurses in the workforce bringing the total number of job openings for nurses due to growth and replacements to 1.05 million by 2022.

For a nursing home, the partnership is a great tool for recognition in the community as a teaching site, it generates revenue and helps find potential candidates for future positions. Before you enter into that contract it’s essential you ensure you’re fully protected.

Here are ten items to take into consideration before signing a contract with a nursing school:

  1. Does your facility's general/professional liability coverage provide coverage for students while acting within the scope of their duties at your direction?

  2. Is the nursing school providing proof of general/professional liability coverage for both the students and their faculty which also lists your facilities as an additional insured?

  3. Is the nursing school providing proof of workers’ compensation coverage for their faculty member/program instructor?

  4. Is the nursing school providing proof of student accident and health coverage? If coverage isn’t provided, is the school requiring that each student assumes financial responsibility for personal illness or injury as a direct or indirect result of his/her affiliate with the facility?

  5. Is the nursing school running and providing criminal background checks on all faculty and students prior to participation in the program?

  6. Is the nursing school requiring the student provide proof of health insurance?

  7. Is the nursing school requiring the students provide immunization status. Immunization requirements (consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for healthcare professional):
    a. Annual influenza vaccination
    b. TB Test (two-step PPD skin test)
    c. Updated immunizations/titers
    d. Proof of diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis vaccination
    e. Hepatitis B vaccination

  8. Is the nursing school providing evidence of student certifications including: CPR certification (certification must be AHA approved at the level of professional or healthcare worker rescuer, which includes the use of the AED, one and two man rescues for all ages and the use of external ventilation devices) and OSHA compliance for prevention of transmission of blood-borne pathogens and TB.

  9. Is the nursing school taking total responsibility for planning and determining the adequacy of the education experience of students in theoretical background, basic skill, professional ethics, attitude and behavior and will assign to the facility only those students who have satisfactorily completed the portion of the school’s curriculum?

  10. Does the nursing school agree to abide by and require that its faculty and students abide by all applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations regarding patient privacy, including but not limited to, the standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information as required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT (HIPAA).

If you have additional questions about the risks and liability that comes with such a partnership, please reach out to your MMA representative.