North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation

Health Care Personnel Registry Section
Nurse Aide Training and Registry Administration
Health Care Personnel Registry Investigations

The Health Care Personnel Registry Section was created in 1996 as a result of legislative action by the North Carolina General Assembly and reorganization within the Division of Health Service Regulation. At that time the responsibilities of the Section were expanded, from having limited regulatory authority for monitoring nurse aides working in nursing homes to include other unlicensed health care personnel working in other types of licensed health care facilities. In 1998, 1999 and again in 2000, legislative action broadened the scope of responsibility for the Division and expanded facility reporting requirements. In keeping with the mission of the Department, the efforts of the Section are directed toward improving services to North Carolina citizens, curbing duplication of efforts among state agencies and controlling administrative costs.

It is the purpose of the Section to review and determine federal and state compliance of all nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs offered in the state. To improve the quality of care provided the elderly and chronically ill, the Section spearheaded an initiative to develop a competency-based nurse aide training curriculum. The effort was accomplished working in partnership with representatives from the private sector as well as representatives of other state agencies and professional associations. This curriculum is available to all health care providers and serves to facilitate and ensure uniformity and consistency in the training of nurse aides. The North Carolina Community College System Office has adopted this curriculum for use throughout its system in both continuing education and college credit programs.

The Section is also responsible for the investigation of all allegations of resident abuse or neglect, misappropriation of resident or facility property, fraud against a resident or facility and diversion of resident or facility drugs when these acts occur in nursing homes, hospitals, home care agencies, hospices, nursing pools, adult care homes, family care homes, state-operated hospitals, and residential facilities and hospitals for the mentally ill, developmentally disabled and substance abusers, by unlicensed assistive personnel (nurse aides) or unlicensed health care personnel (nurse aides, in-home aides, in-home personal care aides, adult care home personal care aides or their supervisors). Further, the Section is responsible for taking administrative action, within the scope of its regulatory authority, against such individuals when it finds one of these acts has occurred.

Tracking and public awareness of unlicensed assistive personnel and unlicensed health care personnel remains a primary mission for the Section. The Section is responsible for providing a registry of all nurse aides who have met federal and state training and competency requirements to perform Nurse Aide I tasks. Additionally, it maintains a listing of unlicensed assistive personnel and unlicensed health care personnel who are being investigated for or have been found to have caused harm to a resident or a facility. These listings are contained on the Nurse Aide I Registry and the Health Care Personnel Registry and may be used by an employer for the purpose of screening prospective applicants for employment or reviewing the employment status of a current employee. Almost all licensed health care facilities are now required to access the Health Care Personnel Registry prior to employing unlicensed assistive and unlicensed health care personnel.

Information from both the Nurse Aide Registry and the Health Care Personnel Registry is made available to the general public and all health care providers via Internet access at http://www.ncnar.org/ and through a 24-hour telephone voice response system at (919) 715-0562. Additionally, the Section provides on-line assistance five days a week during normal business hours as a public service to employers and the general public for inquiries pertaining to the eligibility of an aide to practice in a health care setting in North Carolina.

The Section strives to promote quality in the delivery of health care by unlicensed assistive and health care personnel and welcomes input from private citizens and health care providers on how it can better serve the needs of the elderly, the chronically ill and the provider community. Correspondence should be addressed to Health Care Personnel Registry Investigations, Division of Health Service Regulation, 2719 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-2719, or Nurse Aide Training and Registry Administration, Division of Health Service Regulation, 2709 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-2709.