Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (H 7668, S 2762)

Opposed by the ACLU, this legislation would have allowed Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to attest to a patient’s mental health condition and participate in certifying patients for mandated outpatient treatment, an action which is presently something that only doctors can do. Although we understand the role that APRNs play in the mental health community, we argued that when it comes to medical recommendations for involuntary treatment, patients are stripped of critical elements of due process when the decision is in the hands of anyone but those of a physician. While this legislation passed the House, it did not receive a vote in the Senate and died.