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Agency Information
Home Health Agencies (HHAs) constitute the largest number of Medicare providers managed by the Bureau of Community Health Care Facilities & Services (BCHCFS). There is neither state licensure nor registration for HHAs in Ohio.
Home health agencies may achieve and maintain Medicare certification through accreditation by a nationally-recognized accreditation organization whose standards for home health services are approved as meeting or exceeding the Medicare Program Conditions of Participation. To obtain real-time information, generate, print and download reports regarding health care providers that are licensed and/or Medicare/ Medicaid certified by the Ohio Department of Health contact:
Ohio Department of Health
Community Health Care Facilities & Services 246 North High Street, 2nd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 995-7466 FAX: (614) 564-2475
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://publicapps.odh.ohio.gov/EID/
Default.aspx
Home health agencies paid by Medicare and Medicaid are supposed to verify the licenses that their workers claim to have. However, agencies not paid by Medicare or Medicaid have no such requirement.
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Licenses & Certifications
Verification
The purpose of this chapter is to help you set appropriate expectations. Licenses and certifications are tools often used to establish or signify that a base level of skill or service can be met. This first section tells you what licenses and certifications exist and where to check to verify that an agency or person does have the license or certification they claim to have. Verifying an agency or individual’s license or certification will tell you when they received the license or certification they met a certain level of skill or service. The second section reviews some of the skills associated with some of the licenses and certifications. The last section tells you where to report issues or file complaints. This is very important! If a person or agency has harmed you or someone through negligence or intent it is important to report it so it never happens to anyone else.
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Nursing Licenses and Certifications
for Dialysis Technicians, Community
Health Workers And Medication Aide
Licenses and/or certificates may be verified by contacting the Board of Nursing.
17 South High Street, Suite 400 Columbus, Ohio 43215-7410 (614) 466-3947
FAX: (614) 466-0388
Website: http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/
Verification.htm
For written verification of a nursing license, certificate of authority, or dialysis technician certificate, when the verification is performed for purposes other than providing verification to another jurisdiction- $5.00
All fees must be made payable to “Treasurer, State of Ohio”, and must be drawn on a United States (U.S.) bank payable in U.S. dollars. Please send a certified check, cashier’s check or money order. PERSONAL CHECKS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. When mailing verification requests to Board, please send to “Attention: Renewal.”
State Tested Nurse Aide (STNA)
In Ohio, if your potential employee is a STNA, you can contact the Ohio Department of Health’s Nurse Aide Registry to see if they
are in good standing. You will need their Social Security number to access the registry. Ohio Department of Health
Nurse Aide Registry 246 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (800)582-5908 Fax: (614) 564-2461 Email: NAR2odh.ohio.gov
Website: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/
odhprograms/io/nurseaide/nurseaide1.aspx
Occupational Therapy, Physical
Therapy, and Athletic Trainers
The Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers (OTPTAT) Board is responsible for the regulation of the practice of occupational therapy, physical therapy, and athletic training in the State of Ohio. For verification of licenses and certificates you can contact the Board: Phone: (614) 466-3774
Website: https://license.ohio.gov/lookup/
default.asp?division=92
For website searches they recommend that
you use either the License Number OR Name.
Do NOT attempt to use a combination of Name and License Number. The use of City, State, Zip and County should not be necessary for most searches.
Licenses & Certifications
Verification
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Nursing
For a detailed review of the difference between the duties of a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) read “Scopes of Practice: Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse” published by
the Ohio Board of Nursing (http://
www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/Practice/ RN_and_LPN_Scope_of_Practice.pdf)
Community Health Worker
The standardized course curriculum subjects to become a Community Health Worker are listed in the Ohio Administrative Code
chapter 4723-26-13 (http://codes.ohio.gov/
oac/4723-26-13) and generally include the following major areas:
Health care
Physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual impacts on health
Basic anatomy and physiology of
major body systems
Substance use and affects on health
Signs indicating a change in a client’s
health status
Obtaining accurate vital signs
Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation
skills
Span of lifetime needs (personal and
family)
Top causes of morbidity and mortality
by age group
Advocacy and community resources
Utilization of local health and
community resources, entitlement programs and referral systems
Recognizing and reporting signs of
mental health, addiction problems and family violence, abuse and neglect
Communication skills
Health education: Age-appropriate
education on nutrition, exercise, safety and injury prevention techniques, stress management, chronic illnesses, hygiene and reducing health risk factors
Service skills and responsibilities:
confidentiality, care coordination, documentation, medical terminology, skills for effective home visits
Special health care and social needs of
target population groups
Medication Aide
The Medication Aide course curriculum
can be found at (http://
www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/MedAides/ Training/MedAideCurric102006.pdf) and includes the following:
Introduction to the Role of the Certified
Medication Aide
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
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Medical Terminology, Symbols, Accepted
Abbreviations, Dosage Preparations and Reference Sources, Proper Storage and Disposal of Drugs
Standard Precautions and Infection Control
Six Rights of Medication Administration:
Residents’ Rights related to Medication Administration
Basic Overview: Anatomy and Physiology:
Proper Positioning and Body Mechanics
Fundamentals of Body Systems
Basic Pharmacology/Drug Classifications/
Medications Affecting Body Systems
Appropriate Documentation in Clinical
Record
Circumstances for reporting to a nurse
concerning changes in a resident’s behavior or physical condition
Medication Error Identification, Reporting
and Documentation
Becoming a Certified Medication Aide:
Ohio Law and Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 27
State Tested Nurse Aide
The maintenance required to stay on the State Tested Nurse Aide registry can be found on the
Ohio Department of Health website (http://
www.odh.ohio.gov/odhprograms/io/ nurseaide/narequirements.aspx).
The following are the areas of competency that are evaluated in order to be a State Tested Nurse Aide.
Basic nursing skills
Personal care skills
Recognition of mental health and social
service needs
Care of cognitively impaired residents
Basic restorative services
Residents’ rights
Any other area specified by rule of the
director
The Ohio Revised Code section 3721.30 goes into more detail and can be found on-line at
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3721.30.
Occupational Therapist
The Ohio Revised Code (http://codes.ohio.gov/
orc/4755.07) requires the following criteria be met in order to get a license to be an Occupational Therapist.
Is of good moral character
Has successfully completed the academic
requirements of an educational program recognized by the section, including a concentration of instruction in basic human sciences, the human development process, occupational tasks and activities, the health -illness-health continuum, and occupational therapy theory and practice
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Has successfully completed a period of
supervised field work experience at a recognized educational institution or a training program approved by the educational institution where the person met the academic requirements. For an occupational therapist, a minimum of six months of supervised field work experience is required. For an occupational therapy assistant, a minimum of two months of supervised field work experience is required.
Has successfully passed a written
examination testing the person’s knowledge of the basic and clinical sciences relating to occupational therapy, and occupational therapy theory and practice, including the applicant’s professional skills and judgment in the utilization of occupational therapy techniques and methods, and such other subjects as the section may consider useful to determine the applicant’s fitness to practice. The section may require separate examinations of applicants for licensure as occupational therapy assistants and applicants for licensure as occupational therapists. Applicants for licensure shall be examined at a time and place and under such supervision as the section determines.
Physical Therapist
The Ohio Revised Code (http://
codes.ohio.gov/orc/4755.42) requires the following criteria be met in order to get a license to be a Physical Therapist.
Proof of completion of a master’s or
doctorate program of physical therapy education that is accredited by a national physical therapy accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and that includes:
(a) A minimum of one hundred twenty academic semester credits or its equivalent, including courses in the biological and other physical sciences
(b) A course in physical therapy education that has provided instruction in basic sciences, clinical sciences, and physical therapy theory and procedures
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This section will determine where to report offenses and find licensing or community organizations that can help advocate with you.
Nursing, Community Health Workers
and Medication Aides
Types of complaints that can be addressed by
the Board:
The Board is required to investigate violations of Chapter 4723 of the Ohio Revised Code or any rule of the Board. These violations may include:
• Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a
nursing license or dialysis certificate.
• Denial, revocation, suspension, or restriction
of authority to practice a health care occupation.
• Conviction or finding of eligibility for
intervention in lieu of conviction for a felony.
• Conviction or finding of eligibility for
intervention in lieu of conviction for a misdemeanor committed in the course of practice.
• Conviction or finding of eligibility for
intervention in lieu of conviction for any drug law.
• Conviction or finding of eligibility for
intervention in lieu of conviction for any crime involving gross immorality or moral turpitude.
• Performing duties beyond the scope of the
license.
• Impairment of the ability to practice
because of drug or alcohol abuse, or because of physical or mental illness.
• Obtaining or attempting to obtain money or
anything of value by intentional misrepresentation or material deception in the course of practice.
• Failing to practice in accordance with the
standards of safe nursing practice or safe dialysis care.
• Failing to meet continuing education
requirements.
Types of complaints that can NOT be
addressed by the Board:
• Employer/Employee disputes.
The Board of Nursing’s Compliance staff can assist you in determining if the Board can investigate your complaint. If the Board cannot investigate your complaint, it may be referred to another agency or organization. The Board’s investigations are confidential by law. If you choose to keep your name confidential, the Board will honor your request. However, please note that if you withhold your name from the complaint form, it may make it difficult or impossible to conduct a thorough investigation. All information related to Board investigations is required by law to remain confidential.
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How to file a complaint:
Complaint forms can be obtained on the
Board’s website at http://
www.nursing.ohio.gov.
If you do not have Internet access, you may contact the Compliance Section at (614) 466-9558 and request that a complaint form be mailed to you. Once you have completed the complaint form, you can mail your complaint form to the Ohio Board of Nursing at 17 S. High Street, Suite 400, Columbus, Ohio, 43215. The Board also accepts completed complaint forms via facsimile (fax) at (614) 995-3686.
General information for discipline, compliance, complaint and the Patient Safety
Initiative can be found by visiting http://
www.nursing.ohio.gov/Discipline.htm
State Tested Nurse Aide (STNA)
To file a complaint of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property against a STNA you must file a police report and send a copy of the police report to:
Nurse Aide Registry 246 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (800)582-5908 Fax: (614) 564-2461
Email: NAR2odh.ohio.gov
Website: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/
odhprograms/io/nurseaide/nurseaide1.aspx
Occupational Therapist, Physical
Therapist and Athletic Trainer
The Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board has the responsibility to enforce the laws and rules governing the practice of occupational therapy, physical therapy, and athletic training. The Board has the authority to deny an application and/or discipline an individual’s license to practice occupational therapy, physical therapy, or athletic training, but does not have the authority to provide financial compensation to a complainant (the person or organization that files the complaint) or intervene in litigation in any court.
The Board’s enforcement staff will determined if the complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the Board’s authority after they receive a signed/dated formal complaint that includes a written narrative and a signed and dated release of information/medical documentation form. These can be found
online at http://otptat.ohio.gov/Portals/0/
Pdfs/complaintform.pdf or by calling (614) 466-3774.
