Governor moves to prevent backlog of license approvals for 166 medical professionals | Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts took motion Thursday to unclog a backlog of approvals of state licenses for greater than 150 well being professionals. 

This spring, the Nebraska Legislature handed a invoice requiring the state to submit fingerprints of sure well being care staff to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nationwide prison background checks.

FBI desires new regulation amended

However the FBI has not begun processing the fingerprints and has as an alternative is requiring the state to revise the statute handed this spring.

That, in flip, has prevented 166 well being care professionals from having their licenses accepted, based on a Nebraska Division of Well being and Human Providers spokesman, and being accepted to work in Nebraska.

Ricketts, in a press launch, stated that as a result of the State Legislature won’t be able to amend the regulation till it reconvenes in January, he signed an govt order to permit the Nebraska State Patrol as an alternative to conduct the fingerprint background checks.

The order entails audiologists, speech-language pathologists, licensed unbiased psychological well being practitioners, occupational therapists and occupational remedy assistants.

Disciplinary information checked, too

Dannette Smith, the CEO of the Nebraska DHHS, stated the order permits her division to start processing purposes to apply in Nebraska.

Jeff Powell, a DHHS spokesman, stated Thursday that the company has begun reaching out to the 166 well being care professionals who had been victims of the issue. 

Moreover prison background checks, the state additionally checks nationwide databases to see whether or not an applicant has confronted disciplinary motion beforehand in different states or jurisdictions.